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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24558112">A Change in Scenery</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Will0wywriting/pseuds/Will0wywriting'>Will0wywriting</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona Series, Soul Eater</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>And an airhead, Ann is good at overreacting, Changed Persona 5 fandom tag to the Persona Series fandom tag due to Margaret and Elizabeth, Chatfic moments, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Death the Kid gets adopted, Everyone fails at conversation starters, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Futaba is a troll, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kid is a savage at points, Makoto is the only braincell, Minor Violence, Sojiro is a good coffee dad, Spoilers, Theodore also cares for his siblings, Theodore can do his own ‘chops’, This crossover is brought to you by: Death the Kid and Futaba Sakura switching places, Will add more character tags as Characters appear, and they do this by... Futaba falling through a TV screen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 02:21:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>18,664</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24558112</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Will0wywriting/pseuds/Will0wywriting</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It was supposed to be a normal day. The DWMA was quiet... Until an orange haired girl appeared. After explaining that she fell through a TV into the DWMA, Maka and her friends must help her return back to where she belongs. Along the way... A little white haired boy begins to fall for a socially anxious girl. </p>
<p>Suffering the same fate as Futaba, having nearly passed out and fallen into a TV, Death the Kid must team up with the Phantom Thieves in order to return back to he belongs, confronting his inner demons in the process, while also helping them to uncover a conspiracy much larger than any of their heads.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Death the Kid &amp; Goro Akechi, Death the Kid &amp; Persona 5 Protagonist, Elizabeth &amp; Margaret &amp; Theodore (Persona Series), Futaba Sakura/Soul Eater Evans, Maka Albarn &amp; Soul Eater Evans, Persona 5 Protagonist &amp; Sakura Sojiro</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Trade Off</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I do not own Soul Eater or Persona, both pieces of work belong to their respectful owners, and it should be noted that this is a work of fiction and is thus pure fantasy.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Humming, an orange haired girl was walking around in her home peacefully. Doing a once over, and trying to make sure that the aesthetics hadn’t been touched. “Check. Check. Check.” The check up routine was going smoothly, well, at least until the TV suddenly turned on. “Huh? Oh don’t tell me- did I step on the TV remote again...? Great, fantastic, just what I needed, the difficulty being cranked up to easy to normal mode!” The girl huffed, with her looking down... Only to find that the TV remote was not on the floor, instead, it was on the arm of the couch. “What? Oh no! Don’t tell me... Someone hacked into the TV and is going to begin advertising some scam?! The horror! Better turn it off before that happens-” The girl panicked and went up to the TV. Looking for the power button, she leaned forward... Only to slip on a used laundry sheet. “AH!” Her upper body then fell into the TV screen, before her lower body followed the same song and dance. Now, here she was, falling, and she didn’t know where to. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>When it came to asking where Death the Kid lived, he would simply answer ‘In a mansion’ before continuing with whatever he was doing. And this mansion was held up in such a high regard, it was shocking just how symmetrical it was on the inside to anyone who barely knew Death the Kid. Now when it came to his friends... They understood it was just a part of his OCD, said OCD even leading him to add some white stripes to his dark hair, he called the ‘Lines of Sanzu’. However, little did he know what was about to happen, as he walked around to make sure everything was symmetrical, he found the TV remote in the hallway that lead to the bedrooms of the mansion. “Seriously? I’m going to kill Patty and Liz for this later, I swear!” He growled under his breath, picking up the remote to return it to its rightful place. “Let’s see here... Ah, the living room TV remote.” He turned over the room, to see that label in tape. Another, yet more compulsive behavior he had, was labeling certain objects. Then again, he named objects in his spare time, so labels wasn’t too out of the question. Making his way to the living room, Kid set the remote down on the top shelf, at least 20 inches away from the other remote on the top shelf. ‘Completely symmetrical,’ Kid thought to himself, ‘Now, to go get-’ The TV suddenly blaring to life snapped Kid out of his thoughts, and caused him to jump forward a bit. Going to the TV to investigate, he, at first, tried to turn it off using the power button. When that didn’t work, he tried unplug it. “Seriously? Is this thing stuck on repeat or something?” Kid huffed under his breath. He was getting annoyed now, the fact the noise coming from the TV being completely asymmetrical was bothersome, the fact he corrupted the symmetry with the cord he had originally also was tearing up inside of him, and not counting the fact he was already tired enough as is. “Grrrr...” Kid growled as he just leaned forward and closed his eyes, expecting to meet a solid surface. Oh, how wrong he was, as he suddenly felt himself... Go through the TV screen, screaming as he was falling.</p><p> </p><p><br/><br/>It was supposed to be a normal day. A quiet day. A day of peace. A day where everyone could relax in the Death Weapon Meister Academy. ”Soul, if you don’t hurry up and get ready, I’m going to drag you with me in whatever you have on right now!” Maka had yelled out that morning. What seemed like an eternity that was merely five minutes passed before Soul came out, fully clothed and ready for another day at the DWMA. <br/><br/>After a while of walking, the two were there, standing in front of the DWMA. Although they had seen their friends, they hadn’t seen Death the Kid yet, which was a bit odd due to how early he was up usually. However, shrugging it off as him having finally overslept, they were ready. Ready for another day of ‘suffering’ as Soul once called it so bluntly. </p><p>8:00 A.M.</p><p>9:00 A.M.</p><p>10:00 A.M. </p><p>11:00 A.M. <br/><br/>Four hours. A whole four hours, and Kid was still not at school. The son of Lord Death himself, Death the Kid, had yet to show up at all, which was very strange, but Maka tried to keep herself calm, last thing she needed was to panic during one of a Stein’s lectures. ”Guess Kid’s slept in heavily this morning.” Maka told herself, as her teacher, Franken Stein, or Dr. Stein as some called him once upon a time, droned on about a glitch within electronics that was reportedly linking fiction with reality.<br/><br/></p><p>Meanwhile, outside of the Academy... ”This is gonna be Soul-Crushing Hard mode... But... I need to get help...” The orange haired girl from earlier who fell through the TV, wearing headphones, big glasses that had big circle lenses, a black tank top, black shorts, a pair of cream colored shoes, and wearing Red and Blue striped stockings spoke to herself. Without any thing to lose–or possibly everything in her eyes–she stepped inside, before shortly bumping into a short, pink haired person. ”AH! I’m sorry! I wasn’t paying attention and-” The girl began to stutter before being cut off. “I-It’s fine! D-Don’t worry...” The pink haired person looked up at the girl. ”My n-name’s Crona Gorgon. W-What’s yours...?” The pink haired person, named Crona, asked the long, orange haired person. “Ah... Uh... Futaba... Futaba Sakura...” Futaba struggled to speak out her name.<br/><br/></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>When it came to Leblanc, it was relatively quiet. Well, by relatively, when there wasn’t some person coming in, looking very panicked, and accidentally rushing up into the attic from an OCD attack. Then again, the owner of the shop just shook his head as that happened, like this was your typical Saturday night. That was the story at the moment, with a short, black haired boy. He, however, did manage to bump into someone that happened to live in the attic, and didn’t let go of him, until he heard the person speak. “Hey... You okay?” Looking up, Kid was holding onto a black haired, dark eyed boy who asked the smaller boy with similar black hair, but white strips in it. “...I think... I am... Thank you...” The shorter boy thanked the taller one for showing concern for him, although he didn’t think he deserved it. “I suppose I should tell you my name before we continue any further in the conversation, I’m Death the Kid.” Death the Kid, or Kid, spoke in a monotone voice to the taller boy, but was internally fuming. The taller boy was so asymmetrical it was painful in Kid’s eyes. “My name is Willow Ren. Nice to meet you.” Willow smiled gently at Kid. “So... What happened?” Willow asked in a questioning tone.</p><p>“From what I remember, I was walking around where I live, making sure everything was completely symmetrical and nothing was left lying non the floor, and found a TV remote that was in the middle of the hallway. So, I went to put it back, and when I did...” Kid took in a deep breath. “The TV suddenly started blaring something, and I went to turn it off. I tried to press the power button to turn it off that way first, as a test, which didn’t work. Then I unplugged it, which also didn’t work for some odd reason. I think sleepiness was getting to me, as I leaned forward and went through the TV screen, I believe. I was falling, scared out of my wits end, which the fear and the tiredness caused me to pass out. When I came to I was on a bed in a messy room, with the asymmetrical design annoying me greatly, especially considering how asymmetrical the computer monitors in there were. However, now I’m here, and still unsure where I am geographically at the moment.” Kid explained, pausing after divulging the TV and falling parts. “I see. Well, you’re currently in Tokyo Japan, and this LeBlanc-” Suddenly, Willow shivered. “...Since it’s currently ten at night, we should get some sleep. My cat will have a <em>field</em> day with us, otherwise.” Willow spoke sharply, and a cat’s head peeked out from under Willow’s bed, practically glaring at Kid. So, with Kid nodding at what Willow told him to do, he went over to the couch(?) in the attic, and slowly drifted off to sleep...</p><p><em><br/></em> <b>”</b><em><b>Why, it seems the cogs of fate have been turning.” </b>A rather pessimistic and annoyed voice spoke, awaking Kid to find himself staring at... Someone with a black mask and black outfit? <b>“Hmph. You don’t even have a persona from the seems of it... Speak. What is your name?” </b>The masked person asked, confusing Kid. “Um, pardon... But, what’s a... Persona? Where... Am I? Who... are you?” Kid asked those questions before a gun was put up to his face. <b>”I won’t ask again. What is your pathetic name?” </b>The person spoke harshly, and sounded nearly feral. This caused Kid to gulp before he spoke. ”D-Death the Kid. I-I’m a grim reaper... Um, I’m sorry yet again, but since I answered your question... To keep things symmetrical, can you answer one of my questions in exchange?” Kid asked, as the gun lowered. <b>”Hmph. Thought I would need to use my gun, I suppose not. Regardless, I guess I have no reason not to trust at the moment, given how you seem to be genuinely harmless. I’ll answer your question about personas. A persona is like the second side to your soul. That is all you really need to know. Now, since this will be the only time we meet, I will bid you adieu. Although, if we do meet again, I suppose I’ll humor your offer.” </b></em><em>The stranger chuckled as Kid began to awake from his strange dream.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> <b>I am thou... Thou art I...</b> </em>
</p><p>
  <em> <b>Thoust has acquired a new vow...</b> </em>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>It shall become the wings of rebellion that breakth thy chains of captivity. </em>
    <br/>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <em> <b>With the birth of the Death Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power...</b> </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Akechi could only groan in annoyance as he awoke from his dream. ‘Death the Kid? I suppose I’ll keep tabs on him in case he proves to be a nuisance like the Phantom Thieves...’ He thought to himself.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Akechi: “I do not like you.”<br/>Also Akechi: *forms a confidant with Kid*<br/>But seriously! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I would really appreciate feedback and constructive criticism, and how I can fix up certain spots of this work! Anyways... So now some tid bits!<br/>Since Akechi... Well is the black mask, he’s going to, of course, be an enemy of the Phantom Thieve’s, but will also have an... interesting dynamic with Death the Kid, to say the least.<br/>Since the work is still near the beginning, expect heavy exposition. In case you’re curious though... This is after the completion of the fourth palace and Futaba’s change of heart.<br/>Also bolded Akechi’s text in his dream for aesthetic related reasons, and because... Well we would have a dead guy on our hands if Kid didn’t cooperate. Also, in case anyone’s curious why it’s daytime in the Soul Eater verse and Nighttime in the Persona 5 verse... Soul Eater takes place in Nevada, which is in the U.S., while Persona 5 takes place in Japan, aka time zones exist. And they suck all the same.<br/>But anyways... Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Have a great day ^.^</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Eavesdrop</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello! Me again! So... Fair warning, this chapter is more centered around Futaba and the others, but only because of the timezone shenanigans. Chapter 1 is going to be one of the ONLY times where everything isn’t centered on either Futaba or Kid, but instead, both.<br/>Also, regarding the last chapter, in case you’re curious... I’m actually going to be reviewing each chapter before posting a new one to see if it flows well, for some errors I made... Things like that.<br/>Another thing, Death the Kid and Akechi... Akechi will not only be Ren... or Willow’s confidant, but also have a confidant with Kid. This confidant he has with Kid will rank up during particular events of this story, but not only that, Kid will provide benefits for Akechi while Akechi will find his heart beginning to change and not be as icy with Kid, as his bond he shares with Kid becomes stronger. Before you ask ‘Won’t Kid and Akira have a confidant???’ and my answer to that is... No. They won’t, but Kid will still play an important part in the story.<br/>But anyways, now for some Futaba shenanigans!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So...” Futaba was in the Death Room, staring at Lord Death. Needless to say, it was partially thanks to her own intuition, along with having Crona there to duck behind when she got really anxious when multiple people surrounded her. “You have yet to see your son enter school grounds. Then I come along, which makes you suspicious of me? Sounds like a Monday.” Futaba joked. “Seriously though, I fell through a TV and ended up here, maybe I should remind you of that fact!” Futaba puffed up her cheeks, with Crona giggling at the action. It was rather cute, in Crona’s eyes. “Ah, true. By the by, speaking of falling through things... There was a hole that Liz found which was just deep enough for some student to fall into! Crazy, right?” Lord Death kept his cheerful voice up.</p>
<p>“Uh... I guess- Wait! Could this Death the Kid have gone through a TV and fallen into another world like me??? Oh man... How would Sojiro react if he knew I wasn’t there!?! He’d be worried sick if he knew I was missing!” Futaba panicked, latching onto Crona instinctively. “Okay, do I need to bring you two back to planet Earth from your foreign honeymoon on Mars?! You two are not some lovey-dovey couple! Stop it! Ugh... Now I’m hungry AND irritated!” Ragnarok appeared out from Crona’s spine and pushed Futaba away from Crona, Crona drowning in response. “But... But... Sojiro... The Phantom Thieves...!” Futaba was scared by a realization she had silently. “I NEED TO GET BACK HOME! NOW!” Futaba shrieked, leaping up in panic before Crona grabbed her arm, and tried to help Futaba calm down. ”Miss Futaba Sakura? How about you come back later, once today’s school day is over? Would that be okay with you?” Lord Death asked Futaba curiously, with Futaba, begrudgingly, nodding. This was going to be a long day, huh?</p>
<p> </p>
<p><br/><br/>When it came to knowing that you can’t go home, being forced to stay on unfamiliar turf, and have already spent three hours in the constant, possible pool of danger known as people? It was rather stressful for Futaba. Especially since she stood outside the library, listening in on some conversations, before one took her interest.</p>
<p>”Soul, if you were to come across a girl you’d want to be in a relationship with, what’s the first thing you’d say to her?” Maka was curious when it came to certain aspects of Soul, his love interests being the last thing she asks about, but then again the other topics ran dry quicker than the desert due to his general dorky nature. Secretly, though, she adored the dork of a weapon she had, but it was more like a motherly, sibling, familial love than anything in her opinion.</p>
<p>“Eh. Depends. I guess I’d say she’d look nice. But like hell some woman, one that causes me to fall head over heels for her, will walk through that door.” Soul chuckled. He had to admit, he never was a too hopeful one, but he knew that he could joke around using it when it came to his view point on certain matters. “Oh really?! Then what about Blair?!” Maka pouted one disbelief as Soul shrugged. “Eh. Not really my type, in terms of personality, at least.” He spoke with pure indifference. After listening in on that conversation, Futaba finally made the decision, that should finally go into the library.</p>
<p>After about ten minutes of Futaba stumbling about in the library, not finding any manga whatsoever, she went over to a table and slumped forward. “Where’s the maaaaaaaanga...? I’m running on very little weeb energy at the moment...” Futaba spoke into her sleeve, only to feel someone poke her arm which caused her to look up. “aaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA MANGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” Futaba didn’t realize she had gotten really loud, as she swiped the manga and began reading it. “Whoa, talk about quick reflexes! Hey, what’s your name?” The person asked Futaba, with Futaba glancing up and staring at the white haired boy. “Futaba... S-Sakura...” She spoke nervously as the boy smiled. “I’m Soul! Nice to meet ya!” Soul held out his hand as Futaba shook it. “You look pretty cool by the way.” Soul smiled as Futaba blushed at the compliment, with it having blindsided her.<br/><br/></p>
<p>After a quiet session of reading manga, especially after the librarian shot Futaba glares that could be considered deadly if looks could kill, one where some princess gets kidnapped and has to be saved by some random guy, Futaba was ready to return the manga to Soul. However, in the process, Futaba bumped into some boy with spiky, light blue hair, fingerless gloves, white trousers, a sleeveless black shirt that had a funnel-like collar, black shoes with white tips, and a star shaped tattoo on his right shoulder. “Ah! I’m sorry!” Futaba immediately apologized, bowing before the boy. “Hey! It’s okay!” He smiled. “It was an accident, after all! Then again, when you bump into Black*Star, the one who will one day surpass god, you should be cowering in fear!” Black*Star laughed heartily, as Futaba’s eyes lit up with confusion. “You look like a donut.” Futaba said without thinking, which caused Black*Star to pipe up some more. “Oh yeah?! THEN ME AND YOU SHOULD BATTLE!” He shouted, and Futaba squeaked at the sudden outburst, along with the thought of combat. They just met a couple minutes ago and yet he wants to battle her? When she has the strength equivalent to a piece of paper?! “B-But y-you don’t know my name! So w-we can’t battle because of that!” She tried to make an excuse to why they couldn’t battle, but Black*Star immediately countered her excuse. “What’s your name then?!” With Futaba gulping, knowing she can’t escape at all, spoke quickly. “Futaba Sakura. I really don’t want to battle you, I’m sorry!” She bowed to Black*Star. “Well guess I shouldn’t of expected you to! Considering you’re before an assassin who will someday surpass God!” Black*Star shouted, which made Futaba close her eyes and begin to cry. This, of course, caught Maka’s and Soul’s attention, with them seeing Futaba shaking like a leaf which crying, and Black*Star towering over her as she curled up.</p>
<p>“Maka... CHOP!” With a swift motion, a book was slammed on Black*Star’s head, causing him to fall to the floor. When Futaba looked up, she saw Maka holding the book that knocked out Star. “Sorry, Black*Star can get rather- no, actually, REALLY annoying at times.” Maka sighed. Futaba just shook her head before an idea popped up in her head. “...Maka... Please, can you fight Black*Star in my stead? I’ll be crushed by him easily as I’m really frail. Trust me when I say, though, I’ll help you beat him easily!” Futaba looked determined, which Soul chuckled at. How could she be this cute? “Don’t think we’d have anything to lose Maka! Be good for some training.” Soul looked at Maka. “...Alright. But you better help Futaba!” Maka looked at Futaba, who looked at her in surprise. “H-How do you know-? Oh wait... Soul probably told you... Nevermind.” Futaba sighed at the realization. “Anyways, right now it’s a bit of free time for students, and once it’s over, we have to go back to class. Once school is over, we’ll come and find you okay?” Maka looked at Futaba, who nodded as the bell rang. “Well... Back to Stein now...” Maka sighed as Soul groaned, causing Futaba to giggle. Then, Star got up and shook his head due to feeling a small headache coming on. <br/><br/></p>
<p>Standing outside of Professor Stein’s classroom door was relatively boring for Futaba. She just wanted to go in and introduce herself to them even though she wasn’t a student (that could be changed once she got a computer, however). However, after gazing in and seeing the class dissecting something, that discouraged Futaba from even bothering to try and introduce her self to others. So, she awaited for school to be out.</p>
<p>“A-Ah! F-Futaba! I-I didn’t know you were here...” Crona had appeared, a bit startled when seeing Futaba. “Uh, I have no where else to go right now. Lord Death is an intimidating force, and going inside this class would like, a 100% chance of a OHKO move working on me.” Futaba explained to Crona. “I-I understand. So, a-are you waiting for something?” Crona asked, which caused Futaba to nod. “Yeah, waiting for school to be over. Was challenged to a fight by this Black*Star person and I asked Soul and this girl I believe is called Maka to fight instead of me. I’m going to be focusing on the navigation, though, so no worries!” Futaba spoke quickly, causing Crona to moan in discomfort after hearing that. “Again? S-Star’s a cocky, arrogant p-pain at times!” Crona shook their head. “Oh boo hoo cry me a river-” Ragnarok appeared out of Crona’s spine to speak, before being interrupted. “Oh! A river of salt! Because you get salty eventually, trust me, I know because I got salty once! Kept it to myself though.” Futaba chuckled at the memory while Ragnarok growled. “Oh haha so funny.” He deadpanned. “But you really think you can help Maka and Soul in a fight against Black*Star? Really? I’d like to see that happen.” Ragnarok sounded content with what he said, when the bell rang and Futaba sighed. “Okay! So... are they-” Futaba was about to peek in when Crona grabbed and jerked Futaba back just in time for the door to suddenly open, some students  beginning to rush out of Stein’s classroom. <br/><br/></p>
<p>After being nearly ran over, Crona and Futaba entered Stein’s classroom. Futaba looked around for Soul and the girl he was with earlier, only to be called over by a man in the corner of the room. “Hey, miss orange, can you come over here?” The man called to Futaba, with Futaba gulping. ‘Oh no no no!’ She thought to herself walking up to the man. “H-Hi... M-My name’s... Futaba Sakura... ” Futaba stuttered as the man sighed. “I’m Franken Stein. Nice to meet you, I guess. Why are you in here?” Stein asked, as Futaba looked around again. “W-Where’s Soul? H-He and Maka are in this class-” Futaba was interrupted by Soul appearing behind her and whispering ‘Boo’ into her ear. “GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Futaba shrieked as she jumped, and when she turned around, she saw Soul giggling. “Hey! That wasn’t funny you know!” Futaba pouted as the girl she had seen early, whose name was confirmed to be Maka by Ragnarok, walked over. “Hey Futaba! Are you doing okay? I really hope so, cause of y’know.” Maka gestured to Black*Star, who was in the corner of the room. “C’mon! Everyone rushed to the battlefield to watch, and they’re waiting for us now!” Maka added. “Okay!” Futaba smirked, thinking about what would likely happen to Black*Star. “Mwehehehe. Star’s definitely going to down.” Futaba giggled to herself.</p>
<p>Walking to the battlefield felt so tense, as Futaba listened to Soul and Maka talk about nothing in particular, while watching Black*Star follow along next to some woman that was tall and rather attractive, even Futaba had to admit that. Wearing a pale yellow, sleeveless outfit with an end similar to that of a skirt, that had a yellow star on it, a scarf colored dark brown, and wearing white boots, Futaba had learned that was Star’s weapon, Tsubaki Nakatsukasa. Comparing her to Black*Star, she was no where near close to being as annoying and obnoxious, which Futaba had to admit... Tsubaki was the perfect foil to Star. Given how much more mature she acted, along with apologizing for Star’s behavior when she and Tsubaki first met five minutes ago. Five minutes... It felt like five hours to Futaba, honestly. However, regardless of the time passing... Futaba managed to disappear. She would be able to show everyone... Her true talent.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next time, on A Change in Scenery:<br/>-Necronomicon appears!<br/>-Futaba is a good support<br/>-Star gets reckless<br/>-Futaba learns how to spell ‘meister’ and ‘weapon’<br/>-And bonus: Futaba hacks into a hotel building and rents a hotel, also starts committing tax fraud.<br/>Stay tuned!</p>
<p>Seriously though, Hoo boy ending on a cliffhanger, but don’t worry! Just didn’t want to drag the chapter on. AnywaysYeah, this was mainly focused on Futaba and how she begins to get to meet Kid’s friends, and how she met Lord Death and Franken Stein.<br/>Anyways... Some fun facts again! Futaba and Crona get along due to similar characteristics and experiences. Futaba knows she can’t beat Black*Star, or really anything, in a fight, so she tries to avoid fights. And Lord Death can get a bit jumpy when Kid’s in potential danger, but otherwise still acts as friendly and cheerful as possible.<br/>Anyways... I hope you’re enjoying this story so far and enjoyed this chapter! I’m going to try and see if I can upload a chapter daily, but if not, then I’ll try to get one chapter out every few days! Anyways... See you in the next chapter where Black*Star and Maka fight, with Futaba being Maka’s support.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. I am thou... Thou art I...</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The scene of Maka’s and Black*Star’s battle... It would be more special than anyone else would realize, as a certain girl shows off... Her persona.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Okay! Here is the chapter 3! In this chapter, we have the fight between Maka and Black*Star, and more! I hope you enjoy it!<br/>Also... Reminder, I would really appreciate any constructive criticism you could give! I really want to make this an enjoyable story for everyone! But anyways... So... Please! Enjoy the chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>One side of the battlefield, was Black*Star and his partner, Tsubaki. The other... Was Maka and her partner, Soul. “I’m going to need a bit of time before I can join... Hold him off for a bit and then I’ll make it pay off!” Futaba told the two before she disappeared in the crowd. “Alright. It’s a fight between Maka and Black*Star. Who will win? We don’t know.” Stein spoke in a monotone matter. Tsubaki transformed into a katana, while Soul transformed into a scythe. Star smirked while Maka groaned. Close quarters combat would be not too kind for Maka. “Okay Maka, keep him held off for thirty seconds then I’ll be there!” Maka swore she heard Futaba’s voice but shrugged it off. “And... Begin!” Stein yelled, and Star immediately tried to slash at Maka. Expecting this, Maka waited until Star was close enough... and the two clashed blades, with Maka feeling Star overpower her. Then, after twenty seconds with this struggle, Star finally knocked Soul out of Maka’s hands. “Hahaha! I guess the fight’s practically won!” Black*Star said, cockily. Maka huffed before speaking. “Not yet!” Maka shouted and ran to grab Soul... before Black*Star beat her to it, and slashed at Maka while she was wide open. “YOW!” Maka screamed in pain... Before...</p><p>“Support’s on the way!” Futaba’s voice... Before Maka suddenly felt the pain disappear. “I’m ready to aid you now! Grab Soul, and don’t let up on attacking him!” Futaba’s orders were loud and clear, and Maka kicked Star in the side, due to him having turned away from her to stare at Soul, contemplating what to do. “You have yet to win Star! Don’t think you’ve won just because you knocked Soul out of my grasp!” Maka yelled, and grabbed Soul. ‘Wow! She’s determined...’ ‘How did she heal up?!’ ‘An outside force is responsible for this trickery!’ The students talked amongst themselves, as Star and Maka continued to exchange blows.</p><p>Slashes, cuts, scratches, kicks, punches, you name it, Star and Maka suffered it. Except, Maka didn’t feel nearly as much pain thanks to Futaba increasing her defense and healing her when necessary. Of course, wherever Futaba was, nobody knew. Regardless of wherever the orange haired girl was... One thing was for certain though... Maka was winning against Black*Star. “Alright! Time to help bring things to an end!” Futaba shouted to Maka... And Maka felt a boost of stamina and power. She looked at Star, who was staring at Maka. “I’ll... Defeat you...” He said to himself as he charged at Maka, with Maka jumping up and landing one heavy, precise blow that was strong enough to make Black*Star fall to his knees. He could become incapacitated soon... And Futaba grinned.<br/>
<br/>
“Alright! I’m going to use my secret weapon! Here I come!” Maka was confused by Futaba’s words, before everyone saw a UFO appear, and inside... Futaba typed away on an electronic keyboard before tapping what could be a makeshift enter key. Shortly afterwards, a bomb dropped next to Black*Star and Futaba was dropped to the ground softly by the UFO. “What the...?!” Maka mumbled, when the Bomb’s fuse went out and caught Futaba’s attention. She went up next to the bomb and listened in, before turning her head to check on the fuse... When the bomb exploded, and Futaba was propelled forward by the explosion, and everyone could see a strange eight-bit creature along with the words: “Git gud” with Futaba giving a thumbs up and a smile. They could also see Black*Star fall to the ground, incapacitated by the explosion.</p><p> </p><p>”Wasn’t that cool?!” Futaba was vibrating with joy as she was in a black, green striped, skin-tight jumpsuit. “Well you DID knock out Black*Star... Quite unexpected for someone who didn’t even battle.” Soul mused, as he, Maka, Futaba, and Tsubaki were in the Nurse’s Office. “I must say, that was quite... creative.” Tsubaki smiles gently at Futaba. “I didn’t expect a bomb that not only incapacitated Star, but also was strong enough to make me feel a bit sore all around...” She added. “GG.” Futaba said simply as she did a double take on Star’s injuries.</p><p>“When he wakes up, I’m going to see if I can rent a hotel room, probably going to have to stay here for a while...” Futaba spoke rather quickly causing Tsubaki to look at Futaba confused. “Don’t you mean... Apartment?” Asked Tsubaki, before Futaba swiftly replied. “Eh. Apartment, hotel, same difference really.” Futaba shrugs carelessly. “Sides! I can just...” Futaba stopped mid-sentence as something struck her. “WAIT A MINUTE! I CAN FINALLY ACT ON ALL THOSE YOSHI MEMES AND COMMIT TAX FRAUD! HELL YEAH!” Futaba sounded really excited about... Being able to do a meme. “No, you may not commit a crime!” Maka tone was filled with protest at Futaba’s revelation, with Soul scoffing. “It would be wise to not commit tax fraud, Futaba.” Tsubaki says calmly and serenely, which Futaba huffs in annoyance at everyone’s disapproval. “Killjoys.” Futaba mutters under her breath. “Anyways, let me know when he wakes up. I have a question for him to answer~!” Futaba smirked and was about to go see what apartments were available... before Futaba suddenly remembers... “DANG IT FORGOT I HAVE TO MEET SOMEONE! I’LLSEEYOUGUYSLATERBYE!” Futaba then rushes out of the Nurse’s office, where everyone was left confused by her sudden outburst, and to Lord Death’s ‘Death Room’, hopefully Lord Death wouldn’t mind if she was a little bit late.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>”Miss Futaba... Please do not be late again.” Lord Death looked at Futaba, who was gasping for air. “I-I’ll try... Not to...” ‘Dang it, how could he have known?!’ Futaba thought. “But... To continue where we left off...” Lord Death sat down and passed some tea to Futaba. “Alright so I fell through my TV... then, as I was falling, I suddenly stopped... and when I opened my eyes, I was here just outside of this place, and by just outside, I mean I’m some random alleyway. And then, next thing I know, I’m here at this academy looking for directions home and encountered Crona. Then after our meeting... I hid somewhere for a couple hours before going to eavesdrop nearby the library... I heard Soul and Maka talking about something unrelated when I entered the library.” Futaba explained, as she took a long gulp of the tea she was given.</p><p>”Speaking of which... I heard some students talking about how you appearing out of a UFO that dropped a bomb and blew up next to Black*Star. Mind explaining?” Lord Death asked. “Ah! That was my finishing move! The technical explosion! ...Well I don’t that’s the official name, but it’s a work in progress at the moment.” Futaba answered, with a quickness in her voice. “Although, Star was the one who challenged me, and then I asked Maka if she could fight him for me due to me... well not being that strong, and during the battle... I was an ally for Maka. I was basically the support ally if this was an rpg.” Futaba also casually answered. “And for the UFO... I believe... That’s called... a persona? I’m not sure, besides, I just know I can ride in it!” Futaba said excitedly.</p><p>”I see! Well... I suppose I should tell you... Me and Maka’s father, Spirit Albarn, haven’t been able to figure out how to replicate the method that brought you here. So... You’re going to be stuck here until we figure out how to... Don’t let that discourage you though!” Lord Death was rather cheerful, and it creeped Futaba out a bit. “Since Kid’s not here at the moment... I’ve decided that you enroll here! Temporarily, and if you want to, of course. Might give you something to fill your time with!” Lord Death suggested, and Futaba looked wide eyed before... “Actually, after that battle with Black*Star, I think I might not mind it here all that much. As long as I have a computer, and some others that I can trust, I’m good to go!” Futaba smiles as Lord Death nods. “So... If you don’t mind, I have two terms for joining! Listen closely, because there’s no way to replay the tutorial after I explain them!” Futaba chuckled as Lord Death giggled at Futaba’s sense of humor. “My terms for joining is to have a laptop with me on all times, and being allowed to... Uhm... Well... The second term is... embarrassing... But... I need someone I trust to be nearby so I can hide... People... Crowds... The two things don’t really mix well with me...” Futaba got a bit embarrassed when talking about her social anxiety, but Lord Death shook his head and patted her shoulder to reassure her.</p><p>“That can be arranged! I’m glad you’re willing to join!” Lord Death was grateful, and Futaba could feel his positive aura. “Alright! So would you prefer if you lived in a dorm? Or would you rather live with... Well... Live where Kid was previously?” Lord Death asked curiously. “Hm... I think I’ll live wherever Death the Kid lived!” Futaba smiles as she thought to herself. ‘If I could live where Kid lived... I can investigate and see if I can gather any information on what happened to me... And Death the Kid! I’d be investigating two events for the price of one!’ Futaba didn’t smile at her thought, and only looked down happily. “Alright! Just know... You’re going to be living with... Kid’s weapons. They’re twins, and might not be... all too welcoming towards you, so forewarning there. Oh! As for directions... They live in a mansion! You shouldn’t be able to miss it!” Death told Futaba simply. Futaba only nodded and made a mental note, and got up. “Alright! I’m going to go and meet these two now!” Futaba was about to rush out before turning back to Lord Death. “Who’s my teacher, if you don’t mind me asking...?” Futaba asked. “You’re teacher... Is Mr. Franken Stein, or Professor Stein.” Lord Death said cheerfully as Futaba gulped. ‘Oh no... Who set the difficulty so high?!’ Futaba thought fearfully as she left to meet the twins she would be roommates with.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay so Chapter 3 endnotes... First of all, please tell me if previous endnotes are appearing in later chapters!<br/>Second of all... I have Chapter 4 somewhat done, but want to tweak it before adding it. So if it comes out in the very beginning of the morning tomorrow, yeah. But also regarding Chapter 4... Once Chapter 4 is up, that will be the last chapter focusing on Futaba and Kid’s friends before it switches focus over to Death the Kid and the Phantom Thieves. So definitely look forward to that! Also sorry there is no tax fraud, but there will Futaba committing tax fraud later though so don’t worry! Anyways... I’ve rambled on enough, here’s some fun facts~!<br/>Black*Star will never admit it because it would wound his pride, but he’s a bit afraid of Futaba, Maka and Soul become Futaba’s ‘Key Items’, and Necronomica has voice chat hence Futaba being able to communicate with others easily can, although Futaba can make sure the volume is adjusted enough so only certain people in a radius can hear her.<br/>With that out of the way... Hope you have a great day! And don’t be afraid to leave any criticism! ^.^</p><p>Heya! Future me here coming to tell everyone I’m a dumbass and didn’t know that I had put Chapter One’s endnotes... In the endnotes that goes for the entire book. So just wanted to update you all on that! Anyways... Drink some water, get some sunlight, and stay safe! And be happy!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. A battlefield away from home... Literally.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Battlefield is the mansions other name here!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Alright so I feel like a little disclaimer is necessary here. I was intending to post this chapter yesterday(June 8) but missed the deadline due to just being generally busy so I want to apologize on that front.<br/>However, I also feel the need to mention that I think phones exist in the Soul Eater universe, and trust me, this is VERY important this chapter.<br/>Third of things, this story? Expect it to have chatfic like moments, at points, and know that Futaba is a troll. Futaba’s troll like behavior is important context here.<br/>Finally... Last chapter that’s heavily focusing on Futaba before we go back to Kid and see how he reacts to meeting the Phantom Thieves so hurray!<br/>Anyways... Enjoy this chapter! And don’t forget, I love you guys!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1"><span class="s1">When you would think of Elizabeth Thompson and Patricia Thompson, the fact that they were twins came to mind. Although, they weren’t fully identical, with Liz being taller and older than Patty, having dirty blonde hair, and generally being more moody, while Patty was more childish, had cleaner blonde hair, and acted more like a child. However, they were identical twins otherwise, even wearing the same attire at times. Today, however, they were more worried about Kid, and stayed at home to do many, </span> <span class="s2">many</span> <span class="s1"> searches of the mansion. All they could really find, however, was the remote that Patty and Liz took. Completely symmetrical placement, as well, meaning Kid had found it and decided to put it up. “Kid... I hope he’s okay...” Liz mumbled under her breath, before putting the remote back in it’s symmetrical place.</span></p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Once evening had set in, Liz whipped out a... Phone, was it? She couldn’t remember the name all that well, if she was to be honest, and called Maka. “Hey Maka you there?” Liz asked into the phone, awaiting to hear Maka answer. “Yeah! I’m here! What do you need?” Maka asked on the other end. “Have you seen Kid anywhere today? I’m just curious, that’s all!” Liz asked, her speech slightly quickening after asking that question. “I haven’t, nor has Soul, Tsubaki, or Black*Star from what I know. Oh- yeah before I forget to mention this... Black*Star and I decided to train today, after a girl named Futaba Sakura asked me to fight Black*Star instead of her. Saying she had the strength of a piece of paper, I believe.” Maka answered, Liz huffing in frustration from Black*Star’s antics. “Not surprised. I’m going to laugh if he gets seriously hurt.” Liz joked as Maka chuckled. “About that, actually, he’s currently resting to recover from a bomb explosion-” Maka was interrupted by Liz yelling, “WAIT WHAT?!” Liz couldn’t believe that. Black*Star, despite being a moron at points, couldn’t be THAT stupid! “You heard me right! That Futaba Sakura? She was piloting a UFO and dropped a bomb next to Black*Star, which exploded next to him, which knocked Futaba back and she struck a pose, a thumbs up. Don’t worry about Futaba, though, she’s fine.” Maka sighs. And Liz is left speechless. “I... I’m scared now! What if she had something to do with Kid and that’s why we haven’t seen him?!” Liz began to panic, before Maka squeaked out a noise of surprise. “I don’t know myself. Although, I’m going to ask Lord Death what he knows about her. So, I’m going to let you go now. Goodbye, Liz!” Maka said gracefully as Liz just said a simple ‘Bye’ to cover up the fact she was ready to throw destroy a coffee machine.</span>
</p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Futaba looked at the mansion in nervousness. She gulped as she imagined how terribly this could possibly go, eventually, though, she found the courage to knock on the door. “I’m coming!” A voice shouted. Futaba slightly jumped from the voice sounding rather young, but shook her head. Then, when the door opened, she saw a short blonde haired girl was there, looking up at Futaba. “Um... I-Is this... Where Death the Kid l-lives...?” Futaba asked timidly, as the blonde girl’s gaze went from gentle to deadly. “Who are you? ...Why are you here?” The girl sounded pretty angry, to say the least, and Futaba knew it. “F-Futaba... Sakura... I’m... I’m here because... I-I need s-somewhere to live for now...” Futaba shakily spoke, as the girl tilted her head. “I-I... J-Just found myself here... After f-falling through a TV?” Futaba wasn’t sure what to say that could convince this girl that wasn’t a threat. “I’m Patricia Thompson, but I prefer to be called Patty! It’s nice to meet you!” Patty smiled at Futaba, with Futaba sighing in relief. “Nice to meet y-you too... Q-Question though... Do you have WiFi or Internet?” Futaba asked as she realizes how bad that sounds. “I’m asking because I’m going to be investigating something and I’ll need Internet or WiFi to do so!” Futaba added, as Patty nodded. “Okay! I’m going to let Liz know you’re here!” <br/><br/><br/></span>
</p>
<p class="p1"> </p>
<p class="p1"> </p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Saying that when Futaba and Liz introduced themselves to each other, it going terribly would be a understatement. It went downhill so quickly, that Patty had to step in to prevent another fight from breaking out today. A</span>
  <span class="s1">fter their disastrous introduction, Patty had been going to check on Futaba and Liz occasionally. Futaba had pulled out a phone and was checking through the data on it, meanwhile, Liz was cooking some dinner. “Futaba?” She looked at Futaba, who only ignored her. “Hm... Okay! Contacts are the same...” Futaba tried to call Sojiro, only for the call to fail. “Well, guess phones don’t cover different universes!” Futaba giggled to herself, mostly at her own joke. “Futaaaaaaba?” Patty tried again to get Futaba’s attention, which worked. “Ah! S-Sorry! I was t-testing something... And... And... Hey do you know Soul’s, Maka’s, Crona’s, Black*Star’s, and Tsubaki’s contact information? It’s really important!” Futaba asked Patty, who, oh so innocently at that, gave Futaba the contact information of her friends. Before long, Futaba had them in her contacts, which gave her the ability to create a group chat where she could discuss her findings with everyone. <br/><br/></span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> <b> <em>Futaba started the Chat</em> </b> </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> <b> <em>The Chat has been renamed to: “Information” by Futaba Sakura’s Influence</em> </b> </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> <b> <em>Futaba Sakura added Soul Evans, Maka Albarn, and some others to the chat</em> </b> </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Futaba Sakura: </b>Heyyyyyyy! You guys there???</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Soul Evans: </b>Hey! How did you get my number?!</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Maka Albarn:</b> Information... What sort of information?</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Black⭐️Star: </b>HAHAHAHA! Hey Futaba! Didn’t get to tell you but you are one HELL of a strategist woman!</em>
</p>
<p class="p1"><em><b>Tsubaki:</b> I concur. Futaba was rather... Creative with that bomb while... Giving support to Maka. Reminiscent of a... Navigator, I suppose?<br/><br/></em> <em><b>Futaba Sakura:</b> Mwehehehehe. Alright! No more questions or thoughts for right now! I have some information to share!</em></p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Futaba Sakura:</b> So... Right now, my phone has my previous contacts, Sojiro, Willow, Ryuji, Ann... The people I knew before being brought here!</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Futaba Sakura:</b> However, I couldn’t get a call to work, so I came to a conclusion.<br/><br/><b>Futaba Sakura:</b> We have no way of contacting Kid! So... Sorry... </em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Tsubaki:</b> If that’s the case... Then Kid’s trapped wherever he is... And can’t get help...</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Soul Evans:</b> Hold on... Who’s Sojiro? Ryuji? Ann? Willow?</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Futaba Sakura:</b> Sojiro’s my guardian, and the other three are the Phantom Thieves.</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Soul Evans:</b> The what?</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Maka Albarn:</b> Oooooo Phantom Thieves! I read up on what a Phantom Thief is! What do they steal?</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Soul Evans:</b> Maka!<br/><br/><b>Futaba Sakura:</b> They’re... The Phantoms Thieves of Hearts! Dun dun duuuuuuuun!<br/></em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Soul Evans:</b> ...That sounds... like a comedy movie???</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Maka Albarn:</b> ...Can you elaborate Futaba?</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Futaba Sakura:</b> They changed my heart... I can’t add any thing more to that Maka!</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Crona Gorgon:</b> They changed... Your... Heart? I’m sorry... But... Can you please explain?</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Futaba Sakura:</b> ...I’d rather not go into full detail... But... I went inside my heart... And... And I finally saw the truth about... What happened to mom... My mom... Didn’t commit suicide... I thought she had... But the thought of her committing suicide was created by those adults who read that fake suicide note to me! <br/></em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Soul Evans:</b> WAIT WHAT?!</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Tsubaki: </b>?!</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Black⭐️Star: </b>The hell?!</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Maka Albarn:</b> I’m. Livid. </em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Crona Gorgon: </b>That’s awful!</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Futaba Sakura:</b> They forged... A suicide note... and made it seem like... mom... I’m sorry... Can we please talk about something else...?</em>
</p>
<p class="p1"><em><b>Crona Gorgon:</b> </em> <em>Hey! Ragnarok here! I thought I’d inform Sakura tree over there that she’s not the only one with mommy issues! </em></p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Futaba Sakura:</b> Oh can it!</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em> <b>Soul Evans changed Black⭐️Star’s name to Thick Skull</b> </em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Soul Evans:</b> Oh </em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Thick Skull:</b> HEY!</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Futaba Sakura:</b> OHHHHHH YEAH DIDN’T KNOW THAT WAS ON!</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Futaba Sakura:</b> Everyone, be afraid! I have power over all of you!</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Maka Albarn: </b>Oh, the horror.</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em> <b>Futaba Sakura changed Maka Albarn, Soul Evans, and some others names</b> </em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em> <b>Futaba Sakura changed their name to Memegirl</b> </em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Memegirl</b>: Mwehehehe~! I’m going to love this.</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Totally gay: </b>‘Memegirl’? I’m sorry but I think I’m the one who’s more deserving of that title!</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Totally gay:</b> FUTABA SAKURA I AM GOING TO KILL YOU</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Kiss me Soul~:</b> Is that Star or Soul?</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Kiss me Soul~:</b> You just marked your grave, Futaba.</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Shy and absolutely Babey:</b> Ragnarok’s cackling at whoever is named ‘Totally gay’</em>
</p>
<p class="p1"><em><b>Shy and absolutely Babey:</b> I’m okay with this<br/></em> <b></b></p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>I saw your online search history:</b> Maka, I’m sorry but no I won’t kiss you!</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em> <b>I saw your online search history: </b> </em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Memegirl:</b> Soul’s so kinky if anyone’s curious.</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <b> <em>Totally gay: </em> </b>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Kat and Ana without Ana:</b> K-Kinky? I... Have no words</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Kat and Ana without Ana</b>: Katana? Neat.</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Memegirl: </b>No way in hell is Star straight, Maka I saw you blush when looking at Soul, Tsubaki is Japanese vibes, Crona’s Babey fight me, and Soul’s kinky. Gotta admit, those are GREAT descriptions!<br/></em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Memegirl:</b> Oh yeah and I like memes so expect me to send some when I find them :3c<br/></em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><em><b>Totally gay: </b></em>I’m straight! I swear! <br/></em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Memegirl:</b> That’s what all gays in denial say</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Kat and Ana without Ana:</b> Futaba.. you broke BlackStar</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Memegirl:</b> O damn</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Kiss me Soul~:</b> Well, I’m going to run some errands now, so goodbye</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Kat and Ana without Ana:</b> I’m going to try and bring Black⭐️Star back to Earth, so farewell, until we meet again</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>I saw your online search history:</b> I’m... Going to clear my search history now-</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Memegirl:</b> I have it archived</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>I saw your online search history:</b> damn it</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Shy and absolutely Babey:</b> I’m going to leave and make some pancakes so Ragnarok doesn’t complain about being hungry. I’ll talk to you all later!</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em><b>Memegirl:</b> Okay! I smell dinner so I’m diving for dinner now! Then, sleeping!</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em> <b>Memegirl has muted the chat for 15 hours</b> </em>
</p>
<p class="p1"> </p>
<p class="p1"><br/>“Mwehehehe.” Futaba chuckled to herself. “No way is he a straight boy.” Futaba mused. Patty was in the kitchen, along with Liz, the two of them were roaring with laughter. “She really did that?! Oh my god! Now THAT is priceless!” Liz said in between the tears of pure joy. “But Maka loves Soul! Doesn’t Soul love Maka back?” Patty asks Liz, dropping some of her laughter. “‘Course he does! Just means he wouldn’t kiss her is all. Maybe Black*Star could take a thing or two out of Maka’s and Soul’s relationship!” Liz thought aloud. “One problem: It’s a man and woman. Star’s gonna need another man to be in a relationship!” Futaba entered the kitchen and chuckled. “True. Then again, I wonder if what you did had an effect on him- Oh. Futaba...” Liz’s joy stopped dead in its tracks. Futaba nervously shifted. “H-Hey I’m sorry! I’m still t-trying to find out what h-happened to Kid!” Futaba nervously spoke as Patty just looked at her food. “...Your plate is next to Patty.” Liz pointed to the plate nearby Patty. Futaba gulped nervously as she went and sat down to eat.</p>
<p class="p1">Dinner was deafeningly silent. With Liz still not wanting to talk to Futaba and Patty looking at Futaba in a silent plea to try and talk, Futaba was sent mixed signals that she was afraid to answer. Well, until she decided to bring up Black*Star and how she broke up. “Okay so I made this Chatroom and I told everyone what I knew, and then I renamed everyone after Soul renamed Black*Star to Thick Skull-” Futaba then giggled with laughter. “Mwehehehehehe! For who everyone is... Star to Totally gay...” Futaba kept giggling, with Patty joining in on the laughing, as Liz merely smiled. “Ahahaha! Oh that’s priceless. I may not really like you, at the moment... But you sure do know how to make someone laugh and create golden memories.” Liz began giggling. “Maybe when we find Kid, I’ll try to hook him up with Black*Star.” Liz added, as Futaba smirked. “I was going to say make Star kiss Soul in front of Maka but that works to!” Futaba added, which made Patty pout. “Hey! That wasn’t funny!”</p>
<p class="p1"> </p>
<p class="p1">‘One day down,’ Futaba thought as she was alone in the guest bedroom, ‘However many more to go...’ Futaba let out a sigh and checked her phone. </p>
<p class="p1">
  <b> <em>BlackStar: I’m not allowing you to mock me!</em> </b>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <b> <em>Futaba Sakura: Oh hey gay-in-denial! How are you?</em> </b>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <b> <em>BlackStar: I’M NOT GAY!</em> </b>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <b> <em>Futaba Sakura: Is Kid your crush then?</em> </b>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <b> <em>BlackStar: No! He’s my friend!</em> </b>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <b> <em>Futaba Sakura: BlackStar you know you want to kiss him... Riiiiiight?</em> </b>
</p>
<p class="p1">Futaba giggled. If anything, while she was here for who knows how long, she could poke fun at Black*Star. So, she turned on Do Not Disturb (mostly because she’d be tempted to taunt Star some more) and drifted off into a deep slumber.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. For Real?!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“...So...” Willow stared at the little boy sitting on his futon. After listening to the small boy, identifying as Death the Kid, explain his story again, he tilted his head. “I think I’m understanding this now... You’re the son of the grim reaper... And have terrible OCD... While also obsessing with symmetry...” Willow smiled as the joke came to him. “My god... Who let One Punch Man escape from his anime and be reincarnated?!” Willow joked as Kid puffed his cheeks up. “Hey! I’m not from some... ‘anime’!” Kid seemed rather... Oblivious. “What’s one your friends names? Might be able to look them up and find ‘em. Then send ya back to them.” Willow joked as Kid huffed. “I’m not some letter or package...” He muttered as Willow pulled out his phone. “One of my friends goes by the nickname of Soul, but his full name is Soul ‘Eater’ Evans. He has white hair and a headband. Can’t miss those two features.” Kid watched as Willow entered the name Soul Eater Evans... Only for him to sigh. “I got nothing... Mailing you back is gonna be hard...” Willow huffed. Kid then looked around and saw the faintest gleam. He got up and walked over to it... And pulled out a black phone. “...How symmetrical... Nothing really seems to compare...” Kid muttered as he turned it on. “Hm? Oh. Seems like something we’d find in Futaba’s room... It was... I guess... dark in there...? Not really dark as it was dim from the computers in it...” Willow sighed. “Here... Let me give you my contact information... I’m going to be at school most of the time starting tomorrow, so... Sorry.” Willow said simply, and took the phone, adding his contact information and some of his friends. </p><p>“Hmhmhm...” Kid was downstairs, helping the man who ran the place... Sojiro his name was, him being a man who had black hair that began to recede along with a goatee, wearing a black apron with a pale pink dress shirt underneath, some tan colored pants, and white shoes, clean Leblanc. “Let’s see here... Aha! Found a speck of dust I missed...” Kid went and removed this speck of dust from under the table, as Sojiro chuckled. “Hoo boy... Didn’t think the kid from the day before yesterday would take so much pride in making sure such a messy place is sparkling clean.” Sojiro watched as a gray haired woman entered the cafe. “Oh you again...!” Before Sojiro could get another word in, or the gray haired woman could speak... “Halt! Give me your shoes! They must be cleaned before you come inside!” Kid shouted as he went and retrieved a bucket full of soapy water. “Huh...?!” Was all the gray haired woman, who was wearing a black business suit and pants, could get out of her mouth as Kid was on the ground, cleaning her shoes to be sparkling and symmetrical. “...Is this someone new you’ve hired Sojiro?” The woman looked at Sojiro in confusion, while Sojiro sighed. “No. He was insistent on helping me clean the place today... Hoo boy didn’t think his insistence would run this deep...” Sojiro sighed.</p><p>Despite the gray haired woman, whose name was Sae Nijima, not taking a immediate liking to Kid, she had to admit, he was one hell of a cleaner. “Even if you didn’t hire him, he’d probably come running back every time someone opened that door.” Sae deadpanned her joke, which caused an exasperated sigh to escape from Sojiro. “If you’re trying to get information from me... You’re not going to get it.” Sojiro said firmly, as Sae sighed. “No, I was merely interested in a cup of coffee, is all.” Sae shook her head as Kid went to Sojiro’s side. “If you’ve taken in another kid... You better have the legal paperwork.” Sae warned as she looked at Kid. “I’m Death the Kid, and I’m not interested in leaving this place yet. Sorry, miss Sae Nijima.” Kid said flatly as his phone pinged. “I need to check this, so terribly sorry.” Kid bowed to the two and went into the attic. He checked the message he got and saw...</p><p>
  <em>Ryuji: HEY!!!!!!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ann: Ryuji I’m crepes... And if my clothes get ruined, you’re doing the laundry!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ryuji: That’s not fair!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Makoto: Ah, hello everyone.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Yusuke: Futaba? Are you there? I would like to apologize for the other day if you are there.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Willow: Guys... I have a friend to introduce.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Willow: Kid, say hi.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ryuji: You named him Kid?! </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Death the Kid: Hello, I am Death the Kid. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ann: Death... the Kid...</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Death the Kid renamed themself to Kid.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kid: Call me Kid, please. <br/>
</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Makoto: It is a pleasure to meet you Kid...</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kid: I am male.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Makoto: Kid-kun then.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ann: Makoto...!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Yusuke: Ah, you’re name is very interesting. Can you tell us more about it?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ann: YUSUKE...!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ryuji: Death the Kid sounds kickass! He’s immediately my favorite now!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ann: RYUJI!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Willow: *insert reference to accepting Kid’s name here and Ann getting angry here*</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ann: WILLOW!!!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kid: Ann, is it?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kid: Please... For our sakes... Go offline and get some air. You’re contaminating this air space.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ryuji: DAMN</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Willow: WOW! Got ‘em coach!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Yusuke: Kid-kun! You scared Takamaki-san!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Makoto: Kid-kun! You do realize how rude that was?!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kid: Should I really care?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ryuji: GOD DAMN KID’S A SAVAGE</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Makoto: Kid. If you value your bones...</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kid: Of course, on the contrary to my behavior, I do care about how Ann is feeling. So deeply sorry to you Ann. <br/>
</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kid: Though, your exaggeration was rather tiring and made me want to kill you.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kid: Only a Kishin can achieve that feat.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ann: Kishin?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Makoto: A... Kishin? Is that a new species of-</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Makoto: Bear? <br/>
</em>
</p><p><em>Kid: ...</em> <em>A Kishin is bad, can that get through your thick skulls?</em></p><p>
  <em>Makoto: Kid, you’re treading on thin ice.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kid: Regardless, does the name Sae Nijima seem to ring any bells to someone?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kid: Also, Makoto, your icon is completely asymmetrical. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Makoto: ...</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Makoto: Kid... Where are you at?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kid: LeBlanc... Leblanc?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ann: Uh oh~! Better watch out Kid~!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kid: ?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Willow: Makoto, Murder Kid on a later date.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kid: ...I’m going to come out and say it right now... I do not know why I am here.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kid: I was in the comfort of my own home... When the floor collapsed and I found myself here.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ryuji: And by here do you mean in Willow’s bed or...?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kid: ...Are you implying that me and him... What was the term Soul used once...? Banged? </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kid: Whatever the term, we didn’t do that. We simply met each other last night, where me and Willow simply talked and Willow allowed me to sleep on his couch... Or is it a futon?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Makoto: Remember Ryuji, if you like Willow... It’s not too late to admit it. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ryuji: What no! I like Willow as a friend! Willow’s an amazing friend! <br/>
</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Willow: Your words wound me, Ryuji.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ryuji: OH I’M SORRY BRO!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Yusuke: ...’Bro’?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kid: Is this... internet slang I’m unfamiliar with...?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ann: Wow... Kid’s almost like a mini-Yusuke... He’s actually really... Polite and respectful...</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kid: Ann, I have a question. Is your room clean?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kid: If not, then after I’m done cleaning Leblanc again, I’m going to come and clean your home from top to bottom.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kid: While also making sure it is completely symmetrical.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ann: ...That’s not a threat and yet I’m still scared.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kid: I wasn’t trying to threaten you... But if you took it that way, then yes, it can be a threat.<br/>
</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Makoto: Huh. Cleaning used as a threat...</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kid: Regardless, I must be going now. Farewell for now everyone.</em>
</p><p>Kid sighed and turned off his phone. Going back downstairs, he saw that Sae was getting up. “In any case... I must be going now.” Sae turned to leave... when Kid looked at her and asked her a question she didn’t know what to say to. “Do you by chance know a Makoto Nijima?” That question... It made Sae turn around and look at Kid. “...Me and Makoto’s relationship has nothing to do with you. Let’s leave the answer at that.” Sae sounded scary, and Kid squeaked at her tone.</p><p>About ten minutes(Or what felt like an hour to Kid), two teenagers entered Leblanc and looked around. Kid was cleaning the seat Sae had sat in, and didn’t even see the two teenagers walk up to him. “Hey!” One of their voices caused him to look up and see that there were two blonde haired people, one male, one female, with the male wearing a yellow tank top that had ‘ON UR MARK’ written on it, khaki shorts, and blue sneakers. On the other hand, the other blonde haired person, with rather bushy pig tails, wearing a black tank top with ‘U2O’ with red sunglasses hanging down from the middle of her chest, blue denim shorts with some red plaid shirt being wrapped around her waist, black cropped socks, and sporting some red sneakers to top the look off. “Can I help you?” Kid asked and realized how aggressive it sounded, though it didn’t seem to affect the two that much. “Have you seen our friend?” The blonde haired woman with pig tails asked, which caused the blonde haired man to quickly add an extra detail. “His name is Willow Ren. He... lives here.” Immediately, Kid stood up straight and looked like something amazing had happened. Kid whipped out his phone and looked at the group chat. “...Ryuji and Ann...” Kid mumbled as the two had a sudden realization. “Uhm...” Ann tried to cut the tension, when Kid looked at the two, stars in his eyes. “Nice to meet you two in person. I’m Death the Kid.” Kid spoke and held out his hand.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And we now end off on a cliffhanger that really isn’t too exiting but whatever~<br/>But seriously, I don’t want to drag out this chapter. I want to try to not drag out chapters, but also want to try and make each chapter an enjoyable read. So... Sorry but Kid isn’t meeting all the Phantom Thieves yet... Physically. Technically he’s met them all digitally though so there’s that!<br/>But moving on... I think it’s time for...<br/>TID BITS FOR THIS CHAPTER! (New! Death the Kid mode!)<br/>Okay so... Kid’s a cleaning maniac of course, and due to this fact... Sojiro’s allowing Kid to help clean Leblanc from time to time, although he did it begrudgingly, Sojiro’s not going to say he isn’t impressed with how good Kid is at cleaning everything. Oh and Kid did rearrange some objects that Sojiro’s been needing to rearrange, and did it in a way that he found aesthetically pleasing.<br/>Ann’s terrified of Kid’s name, Ryuji thinks Kids name is badass, Yusuke has no qualms regarding Kid’s name, Makoto’s still the mom of the group and the single braincell and hopes that Kid’s the other braincell they need, and Willow... Is Willow, his behavior is a wild card, and he’s not very caring toward Kid’s name.<br/>Sae’s good at being scary at times.<br/>Anyways... That’s really all the Tid bits for this chapter so... Love you guys! Have a good day! And stay safe! ^.^</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. ‘Searching for Route to Destination’</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Taking his head, Ann was the first to shake it. “Didn’t think you’d be so... formal?” Ann was surprised that Kid even allowed her to shake his hand... She was just expecting him to say hi and nothing else. But Ryuji... After shaking Kid’s hand, Ryuji looked at Sojiro. “Don’t ask. He was insistent on helping.” Sojiro sighed. “Eventually just gave in and allowed him to help... Not that I’m complaining.” Sojiro added, as Ann chuckled. “Well he threatened to clean my room! ...Which actually would be not too great... I’m so used to how my room is right now...” Ann sighed, as Kid shook his head. “Regardless, I do not know where Willow went. If he’s gone and walked off a cliff, I don’t know.” Kid said absentmindedly as he went and grabbed a sponge. “Uh... What are you doing?” Ann asked defensively as she watched Kid dunk the sponge into the soapy water. “Simply cleaning.” Is all he said.</p><p>After cleaning both Ryuji’s and Ann’s shoes, although Ryuji’s was the one more in desperate need of a quick cleaning, Kid had decided to open up about his past with Ann, Sojiro, and Ryuji. “I see... If I were one of your friends... I’d hope you could return home... And that you were... safe...” Ann looked at the floor. “...His father must be worried sick... And his friends as well...” Sojiro mused as Ryuji huffed. “Damn it... If only I could also help...” Ryuji growled. “It’s okay. I’m sure I’ll find my way back home.” Kid reassured the three. “...I think I’ll go out and explore for a bit... I might be able to figure something out...” Kid’s look was rather hopeful, although he was pretty sure his hopes were misplaced. As he left Leblanc... He felt as though something inside him calling his name.</p><p><br/>”Such a big underground area...” Kid mused. He ended up at the train station, and was marveling at how big it was. He went through every nook and cranny he could, almost similar to how a child would want to explore some new place they found. Of course... If only he could stay for longer... Sadly, he’d have to return to Leblanc soon... Although, he would definitely get presents from the underground mall as souvenirs for the others if he could. “I wish I could get everyone some souvenirs... Little mementos of my journey here...” Kid mused... Although, unbeknownst to him... ‘Conditions have been met. Searching for route to destination.’ His phone spoke. He closed his eyes and sighed... Only to open them and see that the busy station, suddenly, was nearly void of any people. “Huh...?” Kid was confused and he looked around. “Where... Did everyone go...? Wait... Where... Am I...?” Kid didn’t know what to do, so he began to wander around... Eventually finding a way to go down, deeper into... Mementos.</p><p><br/>“Alright team. Everyone remember the mission?” A cartoonish looking cat asked the group next. “We find the shadow, and then get the hell out of here! Right?” The blonde haired one, wearing a skull mask, and looking like they came out of a gang, asked. “Correct Skull. We-” One of the other people, this time with brown hair spoke before being interrupted by the one with blue hair and a fox mask. “Hold on a second... What... Is that smell...? Could it be... Soap?” The blue haired person with a fox mask looked around. “Now that you mention it... I do smell a faint scent... Of soap... And... Cologne...?” The one with dark hair and a black trench coat spoke, while sniffing the air. “Cologne?! Soap?! Oh no... Someone’s in here! We need to hurry and get them out before they get hurt!” The cat spoke frantically, and soon... The group went and began to look for this person who was in Mementos, hurrying to find them before they could get seriously hurt.</p><p>”Ngh...” Kid was feeling weak. Very, very weak. He had been running for his life, going in mere circles in this twisted version of the station he was in, until he was hit by an attack from what was chasing him... and inflicted with a terrible hunger that made him feel weak. And now... He was surrounded. Surrounded by... what looked like monsters. “This... This is... it... isn’t it...?” Kid asked himself as he began to cry. “I... I’m going to die... I’m going to die and nobody’s going to know... Die and be unable to see Liz and Patty again... Die... I’m going... I’m going to die...” Kid choked back a sob as he closed his eyes... before...</p><p>
  <b> <em>”Are you seriously that weak minded?”</em> </b>
</p><p>A voice spoke to Kid as he began to feel what he presumed to be a headache.</p><p>
  <b> <em>“So simple minded... Thinking this is the end... Are you really sure this is the end? The end of your story?”</em> </b>
</p><p>Kid began to sob in pain. He shook his head, as he said, “No... It’s not...”</p><p>
  <b> <em>”Then discard the thought that you will die. Embrace the thought that you’re going to become stronger just from the mere thought of death! That this is just another chapter in your life!”</em> </b>
</p><p>Kid screamed in pain. He was hurting all over so much, and yet none of the monsters had even attacked Kid yet.</p><p>
  <b> <em>“Exit this weak minded belief... And enter the strong minded belief that you’re going to survive, grow even stronger than you already are!” <br/></em> </b>
</p><p>Kid then let out a pained breath as he nodded. “I will... I’ll make sure... I’ll make sure that my friends know I’m alive! I’ll make sure they see me again! No matter what!” Kid yelled, as the voice cackled.</p><p>
  <b> <em>”Then we can now proceed to the contract.”</em> </b>
</p><p>Kid didn’t see the car that looked like a cat approach. Nor did he see it transform into a cat after a group of oddly dressed individuals hopped out.<br/><b></b></p><p>
  <b> <em>”I am thou... Thou art I... Let us save you from this simple mind you have! Call my name!”</em> </b>
</p><p>Kid felt his hands go to his face, feeling about... And finding what felt like a mask covering his face, before ripping it off, as he screamed...</p><p>
  <b> <em>”THE GRIM REAPER!”</em></b>
</p><p>In a mystical blue fog... Came an other worldly being. One long scythe-like arm, the other a blade, with a cloak that is displaying so many skulls and souls, all looking like they’re writhing in pain, and floating above the ground with two, flame red eyes. Of course, it was behind Death the Kid... Who underwent a transformation in appearance, sporting a long black cloak with souls of all kinds of designs, little masks decorating the sides of the cloak, and underneath the pitch black cloak... Was a business suit that had lines spiraling up to the neck area, and dark pants that is white one side and black on the other. Most importantly though, Kid’s face was filled with determination. “I won’t let myself fall farther than I have already... I will prevail to reunite with my friends! By any means necessary!” Kid yelled. “GRIM REAPER! MAEIGA!” Kid shouted as the monsters who surrounded him were engulfed by a mix of blacks and reds, and that mix of blacks and reds suddenly rose up... and dealt Curse Damage to the shadows, knocking them all down. “Whoa... He’s already so powerful...” The cat marveled. Kid took notice of the others, and after another Maeiga, defeated the monsters without breaking much of a sweat.</p><p>“Ah... Hello...” Kid looked at the group of people and felt rather scared by them... Given how they were glaring at him. “A black mask... Could this be who Madarame and Kaneshiro mentioned...?” The one in the red suit spoke to herself. “...Black mask...? Uhm...” Kid looked down and saw how his appearance had changed. “Wh... Why...? Why do I look... So asymmetrical...?” Kid then took another look back at the group. “...Am... I missing something here...? Who... Are you people...? And... where the hell am I...? And... And... I can’t...” Kid fell to the ground, he was beginning to feel fatigued. “I... Feel so weak...” Kid mumbled as the group got closer to him. “...He’s not the Black Mask Madarame or Kaneshiro mentioned...” The cat stared at Kid. “...We should be able to trust him. For now, let’s introduce ourselves to him and take him back to the real world.” The cat then went up next to Kid and smiled. “I’m Morgana! Just call me Mona, though.” Morgana then looked at the guy with a skull mask. “I’m Skull! Nice to meet ya!” Kid could swear he’s dealt with those exact same mannerisms Skull had before... “I’m Panther! I’m happy to meet you!” The woman in the red suit smiled as the one with a fox mask smiled gently. “I’m Fox. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Fox went to help Kid up, with Kid accepting it. Then, came the one who looked like they came out of a biker gang, at least to Kid anyways. “My name is Queen. Don’t go forgetting it.” Queen went over and picked up Kid, as the last one to introduce themselves was the one with the black trench coat. “I’m Joker. What’s your name?” Joker asked, and nearly fell to the ground with what Kid said next. “I’m... Death the Kid...” </p><p>So, to say the trip back to the entrance to mementos wasn’t awkward would be an understatement. Everytime someone tried to talk with Kid, he would immediately shut them down with a single worded answer, or give an answer that is very cryptic. “Who’s one of your friends?” Panther tried, only to succeed in getting Kid to respond with: “Soul.” “Are you okay?” Queen asks Kid. “No.” Kid responds flatly. “Do you like art?” Fox tried a different approach, only for a simple “Practiced it.” to leave Kid’s mouth. “Are you capable of giving longer answers...?” Skull trailed off. “Yes, I am. But I’m choosing not to...” Kid stared out the window. He was still feeling rather fatigued, but didn’t want to admit it. “...Do you know how to induce a psychotic breakdown or mental shutdown?” Joker asked seriously, which caught everyone’s attention. “...What’s a psychotic breakdown? And a mental... Shutdown...?” Kid was confused. “...Okay then. Kid... I have another question for you... Do you want to join the Phantom Thieves?”</p><p>Once they were at the entrance of Mementos... Kid stared at the group. “So... You’re the Phantom Thieves of Hearts...” Kid mumbled, as he did another once over. “I didn’t... Think Phantom Thieves of Hearts... Would... Look... This kinky...” Kid shook his head. “But still... I... Wouldn’t mind joining the Phantom Thieves on one condition.” Kid watched as the others began mumbling amongst each other. “Okay. Shoot the condition.” Joker said flatly as Kid sighed. “You all help me find my way back home to my friends.” Kid said simply, causing the other to groan. “Of course we would help you with that! Who do you think we are?!” Skull got pretty worked up, as Kid sighed. “Alright. I accept your invitation then.” Kid spoke calmly. ”Sweet!” Panther smiled. “We need to give him a code name though. Kid or Death might cause problems later down the line if we aren’t careful.” Queen spoke softly, as Kid sighed. “Reaper. That’s going to be my code name, if you all approve of it.” Kid smiled gently, as the others nodded. “Welcome to the Phantom Thieves, Reaper. Let’s return to the real world now, the mission can wait until tomorrow.” Joker spoke his reasoning, with Reaper noting that they were on a mission before coming to his aid, as he whipped out his phone. </p><p>‘Thank you for exploring mementos. Now returning to the real world.’</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hiiiiii<br/>It’s me again! I hope you’re all enjoying this so far! I know I sure am! So... I’m sure you’re expecting me to explain some things, and I will so here we go! (Note: While trying time write a sentence, so kept autocorrecting to do so have that funny tidbit.)<br/>So Kid’s going to be joining the Phantom Thieves, and it’s happened in this chapter specifically because... Well the next palace after Futaba’s is easily the worst and my writing will probably make it even worse so there’s my reasoning as to why Kid gets his persona in between Futaba’s and Okumura’s palaces.<br/>Also, as for the Grim Reaper being his persona... Well aside from obviously Kid being a Grim Reaper, it’s also for another reason. I felt like there was nothing else that would suit Kid’s personality as well as the Grim Reaper. Due to the Grim Reaper being a personification of Death and Kid being the Death Arcana for Akechi, I thought it made perfect sense. <br/>Also, in case you’re curious as to what Kid’s outfit to represent his rebellious will... It’s a cloak meant to conceal most of his body, to represent how the Grim Reaper is never seen until, presumably, when someone’s on the brink of death. With the business suit, reaping souls could be seen as a business I presume, and the lines that spiral up are meant to signify how one never gets younger and is always ascending upwards in terms of age and approaching death’s door. With the pants... Yin and Yang, that’s all I’m saying. <br/>Now for some tidbits~!<br/>Kid can be cold at times, and it’s shown here, with how he gives everyone the cold shoulder when they try to get to know him.<br/>Despite Panther having the most... Revealing Thief suit out of all of the Phantom Thieves, Kid doesn’t pay much mind to it. <br/>Of course, Queen is the mom and the only one with braincells. Kid also has braincells but to a lesser extent. <br/>Kid went with Reaper as his code name due to both irritation and him not really thinking about it. <br/>Also, the Navigation app installed itself on Kid’s phone while he was chatting with the others in the group chat and Kid didn’t notice it due to him turning his phone off before he exited the group chat app he was on.<br/>But anyways... I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please don’t forget, I’m always open to criticism to make this work better, so don’t feel intimidated to leave any criticism! Anyways... Love you guys and stay safe ^.^</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. “Welcome back... To hell.”</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After the world shifted, and Kid began to feel a bit light headed, Kid found himself staring at Willow and his friends. “...W-Willow?” Kid looked so confused, as a girl who had brown hair sighed. “It looks like it’s evening... We should all probably go and return home to rest up. We have a new member, after all.” The girl spoke calmly, with Kid growing even more confused, as he saw a boy with blue hair tower over him. “We should introduce ourselves to him though. Might make him feel more welcomed.” The boy reasoned as he held out his hand. “I’m Yusuke Kitagawa. It’s nice to meet you.” Yusuke smiled as Kid took his hand and shook it timidly. “Ah... Nice to meet you too, Yusuke.” Kid tried to smile, but it came as a fearful one. “Oh, my apologies if I’m scaring you. Especially since I’m rather tall compared to you, it’s understandable to be scared of me due to that.” Yusuke bowed apologetically to Kid, as the girl with brown hair cleared her throat. “I’m Makoto Nijima. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Makoto smiled reassuringly, hoping not to make Kid even further terrified. “Ah... Pleasure to meet you too, in person as well, Makoto...” Kid smiled as he yawned. “Sorry... I’m rather tired now...” Kid also felt fatigued, but didn’t mention it. “It’s only natural he feels tired and fatigued. He just experienced an awakening, so it’s natural.” Willow’s cat stuck it’s head out of his bag, and was talking. “Wait a talking cat?!” Kid stared at Willow’s cat in sheer terror. “I’m NOT a cat! I happen to have a name!” The cat groaned in annoyance. “My name is Morgana, y’know!” Morgana huffed subsequently afterwards. “...Ah... Okay...” Kid only nodded, as he looked at everyone one more time. “...Okay I think I have everyone memorized... And... I’m...” Kid couldn’t finish his sentence before he collapsed into Willow’s arms from exhaustion and fatigue, also falling asleep in the process.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em><b>”Oh... You’re back...” </b>The black masked individual Kid had met the last time he was here was staring down at Kid. “Uh... Hello?” Kid nervously spoke. He felt the individual’s gaze harden as he smirked.<b> “Welcome back... To hell.” </b>The person chuckled, as he took a couple steps closer to Kid. “...P-Please... just... just tell me what you want...” Kid was very nervous, this guy could kill him here and now and nobody would know it. Despite it being a dream... It felt like if he died here, he would actually die. <b>“Then let me get to the point... So you awakened to a persona... A rather strong one at that...” </b>The individual chuckled. <b>“I would like to propose an offer to you, Death the Kid, in regards to that. It’s a rather... simple offer, if I may say.” </b>The individual watched as Kid sat up and looked at himself, seeing that he was in his Phantom Thief attire.<b> “Help me take down someone I harbor a grudge against. That is all I ask.” </b>The black mask stared Kid down, as Kid simply gulped. “...I-If I don’t, you’ll shoot me, right?” Kid asked timidly as the individual cackled.<b> “Hit the nail on the head, or the bullet in this case!” </b>The individual continued cackling. Kid sighed. “Tell me some more, I need information in order to be able to help...” Kid groaned, now the laughing was becoming painful to listen to. <b>“The person we’re going after... Is rather close to me. That’s all I can say on the matter here. Now, will you join me or not?” </b>The individual held out his hand, as Kid took it. “I will... Mr...?” Kid tilted his head, clearly indicating to the individual he needed their name. <b>“Goro Akechi. That’s my name.” </b>Akechi smiled.<b> “Use Akechi, please.” </b>Akechi clarified, with Kid nodding. “Alright then.” Kid said simply, as he retract his hand, and yawned again. <b>“It would be wise if you slept now, and we meet up the day after tomorrow in Shibuya. If that is okay with you?” </b>Akechi asked calmly as Kid nodded. <b>“Alright then. Go to the arcade, I’ll meet up with you from there. Now... Time for us to part ways for now.” </b>Akechi watched as Kid’s face became one of confusion, as Kid soon allowed his eyes to shut.</em>
</p><p><br/>
”Morgana, please, let me stay up... We need to make sure Kid’s alright and that none of the shadows hit him in any dangerous areas.” Willow huffed, Kid was currently shirtless as Morgana and Willow were examine him for any wounds, with the only wound so far being a small cut on his arm. “He’s only sustained a cut... I’m sure if he had a wound on his leg, then it would’ve become apparent back in the train station.” Morgana and Willow were arguing, as Kid began to stir... before he shivered. “Where... Is my... Shirt...?” Kid slurred a bit, still a bit... off due to sleepiness. “And... Where am I...? Where did everyone go...?” Kid began looking around, finding the room he was in... to be one that was familiar to him, but also still foreign. “Futaba’s room. Sojiro insisted on us bringing you here. He must’ve gotten worried about you... Maybe you reminded him of Futaba...” Morgana pondered aloud, before Willow spoke up. “Where is Futaba, by the way?” Willow asked to no one in particular. “...Futaba...? Futaba... Futaba...” Kid began repeating the name. “I fell through the floor... Into... Futaba’s room? Then... Then could it be...?!” Kid’s revelation came as he began to look around again, this time noting every little detail about the room. The PC, the merchandise, and how it was rather dark... Maybe Futaba was a hyper fan of media content? That was one possibility as to who Futaba was, and what she behaved like. “I think I might know...” Kid spoke grimly.</p><p>”WHAT?!” Morgana shouted in surprise. Kid sighed. “I fell through the floor, and then ended up here. Then, subsequently, your friend Futaba Sakura ups and vanishes around the same time I end up here. That’s not just a coincidence... They have to be tied to each other!” Kid told the two his revelation again. “So... You fall through the floor, end up here... And the same thing happens to Futaba...?” Willow began processing this. “That would make sense in a way... Maybe to keep balance from where you came from? I don’t know... But if you suddenly appearing and Futaba suddenly vanishing is any indication... Then yeah I believe you...” Willow sighed. “I’m sorry... I wish this hadn’t of happened...” Kid apologized as Morgana huffed. “Hey! It’s not your fault! You didn’t know this would happened, so how can we blame you? As long as where you come from is safe for Futaba then there’s not going to be any issues... Right?” Morgana stared as Kid gulped. “...Does she have a persona?” Kid asked as Willow nodded. “...Maybe she might be able to hold her own... Against my friends and Kishins especially...” Kid mused. “Where I come from, for the most part, isn’t all too safe. But... If Futaba’s smart and strong enough, she can survive where I came from!” Kid tried to smile optimistically, but the smile came off as more sad than anything. “Alright then. Let’s get you two to bed now. Especially you Kid.” Morgana looked at Willow, who was looking rather annoyed. “And you too Willow!” Morgana yell at Willow, causing Kid to begin snickering. </p><p>After getting ready for bed, Kid began having trouble trying to sleep on Futaba’s bed. ‘Goro Akechi...’ He kept thinking. ‘I should begin my investigation into him after Mementos tomorrow...’ He made up his mind. Soon after... Kid fell into a dreamless sleep.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Woo wasn’t this a fun chapter to write! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, because I had fun writing it! So... You may be curious... This is the last chapter for Kid and Phantom Thieves focus for a bit, and now we shall switch over to Futaba and her ragtag group... we’ll not fully friends but friendly acquaintances. Also god I hate spelling acquaintance, I always think it’s spelt differently than that. But back to the point, I realized that Futaba hasn’t been as quirky as she is... So expect her to throw around more slang and relate things to difficulties a bit more in the next chapter, but not too much it gets annoying.<br/>As for the tidbits in this chapter... The only tidbit I have is...<br/>“Go to... BED” -Morgana’s personality at night<br/>Anyways hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Love you guys, and stay safe ^.^</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Impossible Mode</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Ngh... So tired...” Futaba had woken up pretty early. “What time is it...?” She asked herself as she grabbed her phone to check. “5:00 A.M. Huh? Wonder what the others are doing...” Futaba decided to check the group chat... And saw that it had a notification.</p><p>
  <b><em>Kiss me Soul~ added Liz Thompson and Patty Thompson to Information</em> </b>
</p><p>’Huh, guess this will go well when the Chat is unmuted.’ Futaba thought to herself before remembering what today was. ‘Oh no! Today’s my first day of school... Agh it’s already on hard mode and I haven’t even started the game!’ Futaba went and began to look for clean clothes. “This is already turning out to be hard mode...!” Futaba mumbled. Eventually, after a good thirty minutes... Futaba managed to find some clothes that fit her. They were a black suit with rectangles that were placed in a symmetrical way, a black jacket, black pants, and had this skull around the collar. “Huh. Well gotta make due with what’s given to me...” Futaba muttered as she put on the clothes after taking her own off and delivering them to the laundry room. After putting on the clothes... They felt rather comfortable she had to admit. Then, her phone buzzed.</p><p>
  <b> <em>Information is no longer muted</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Totally gay: </b>THANK GOD</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Totally gay:</b> I’ve had so much pent up anger and I want to vent</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Totally gay:</b> Like, for example, me having some nightmare where I was about to get shot by someone... <br/>
</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Totally gay: </b>Then... Kid took the bullet for me</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Totally gay:</b> I’m not sure what that dream was trying to tell me but</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Totally gay: </b>I actually gained more respect for Kid in that dream</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Kiss me Soul~:</b> Noted.</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Kiss me Soul~: </b>Also, I’m feeling so hyped for today!</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Liz Thompson: </b>Got word from Lord Death that we got a new student but idk if that’s anything to be happy about, so smh</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>I saw your online search history: </b>A new student huh</em>
</p><p><em><b>Patty Thompson: </b>I’m curious who it is!</em> <b></b></p><p>
  <em><b>Memegirl: </b>Mwehehehe! Someone new to research!</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Kat and Ana without Ana: </b>...I have a hunch who this new student is, but I’ll wait to confirm it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Shy and absolutely Babey: </b>Guys why did you wake me up I was</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Memegirl: </b>Oh no, Crona’s high on sleepiness. </em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>I saw your online search history: </b>Oh dear</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Liz Thompson: </b>Anyways, going to yesterday... So Maka told me what happened yesterday and lmao Star lost to a sub</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Liz Thompson: </b>A fucking sub</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Memegirl: </b>I’m clearly the alpha </em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Memegirl: </b>He’s the omega</em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>Totally gay: </em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Memegirl: </b>Oh yeah and he’s a bottom also 100%</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Liz Thompson: </b>Preach it</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Kiss me Soul~: </b>Yeah I agree</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Kat and Ana without Ana: </b>I must concur, he seems like the one who would be more submissive in a relationship in my personal opinion due to living with him. It actually doesn’t take much to scare him or anger him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Totally gay: </b>Tsubaki!</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Liz Thompson: </b>Wait that’s Baki</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Patty Thompson: </b>And Star’s gay??? Don’t worry! I support you regardless!</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Kiss me Soul~: </b>Blame Futaba for these cursed names.<br/>
</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Memegirl: </b>Oh yeah and...</em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>Memegirl changed Liz Thompson’s and Patty Thompson’s names</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Scary child: </b>Oh!</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Moody: </b>Huh</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Moody: </b>Futaba how did you nail us like that</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Scary child: </b>I’m not scary!</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Memegirl: </b>Secret gamer techniques you all will never know</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Memegirl: </b>Aka puzzle games and dating sims</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Memegirl: </b>Mwehehehe. Speaking of dating sims... Soul reminds me of a character from one of them.<br/>
</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>I saw your online search history:</b> Oh really</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Memegirl:</b> Yep! Soul’s definitely the mature musician!</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Kiss me Soul~:</b> Mature? Futaba, I’m pretty sure you’re confusing Soul with Tsubaki.</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Memegirl:</b> I am not!</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Memegirl: </b>But back to the main topic...</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Memegirl: </b>Everyone, go get ready for your day of school. I’ll be there just so I’m not alone.</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>I saw your online search history: </b>Okay<b></b></em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Moody: </b>K</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Kat and Ana without Ana: </b>I look forward to seeing you later Futaba.</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Kiss me Soul~: </b>Please don’t blow anything up!</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Scary child: </b>Okay Taby!</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Shy and absolutely Babey: </b>Understo</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Totally gay:</b> I’m not looking forward to today</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘They have no idea what is to come...’ </em>
</p><p>After an admittedly good breakfast by Liz, Futaba told Liz and Patty she had to change her clothes due to her own clothes being dirty. “Though, I’m still wearing my headphones and glasses because those make me feel safe...” Futaba smiled sheepishly as Liz chuckled. “Actually... I think I’m beginning to like you, Futaba. Good sense of humor.” Liz admitted as Patty smiled. “Futaba’s so nice! She’s like a little sister, even though I’m younger than her!” Patty’s smile really made Futaba feel good on the inside. “Thanks... It’s people like you, Patty, that allows the difficulty of interacting with people get closer to easy mode!” Futaba giggled. “Also, I’m fifteen at the moment. Turning 16 in February.” Futaba clarifies, as Liz smirked. “Five days after Valentines Day... Rather funny in my opinion.” Liz said, as Futaba sighed. “Eh I don’t really think the same way but moving on... Today’s... Gonna be on impossible mode, I’m sure...” Futaba gulped, as Patty tilted her head. “Why?” Patty asked. “Oh... no reason just... Being at your school is already on impossible mode from the get go...” Futaba tried to reassure Patty, with Patty sighing. “Don’t forget... You can trust us, Futaba. Don’t be afraid... To tell us anything that’s bothering you, okay?!” Patty looked at Futaba with determined eyes. “Okay! I’ll be sure to!” Futaba gave a smile, one that she felt was foreign.</p><p>“I wonder... Who’s the new student?” Everyone in Franken Stein’s class was whispering amongst themselves. “Soul... Do you think Futaba’s the student?” Maka whispered to Soul. “Probably. Not entirely sure, but then again, she’s already a bit quirky.” Soul explained to Maka as a student whispered to Soul. “Hey, I heard that the new student is the one who helped Maka beat Black*Star! What do you think?” Soul sighed as he shrugged carelessly. “Eh, if it is, cool, if not then oh well.” He answered simply. Then, the bell rang and everyone turned their attention to Stein. “Good morning, everyone. Before we get started with the lesson... We have a new student. If you could give them a warm welcome, say hello... To Futaba Sakura.” Stein stepped to the side as Futaba shuffled into the room. “H-Hi... I-I’m... F-Futaba Sakura... N-Nice to... M-Meet... You all...” Futaba was nervous, as a student then blurted out, “Is that Kid’s clothes?” Which made Futaba tense up. “I-I had no other... C-Clean clothes... Ngh...” Futaba began twiddling her thumbs. “Who set the d-difficulty bar this h-high...?!” She mumbled, as another student raised their hand. “Are you partially blind? What’s with the big glasses? And the headphones?” Three questions that made Futaba go red from nervousness. “I-I’m... I can’t d-do this!” Futaba then quickly rushed over to Soul and Maka, hiding behind Soul. “P-Please... L-Let... M-Me hide here...” Futaba whispered to Soul, as he sighed. “I can answer the glasses and headphones for her, considering Liz told me... They bring her comfort and make her feel safe. If she had problems with her sight, that’s beyond my knowledge...” Soul sighed as Maka pinched the bridge of her nose, with Stein clearing his throat. “...Futaba, you can sit next to Maka. Based on... what just occurred... It might be the best for both worlds.” Stein recommended, as Futaba dived into the seat. “O-Okay...” Futaba gulped. Maka then tapped Futaba’s shoulder. “I’ll share my books with you for today, okay? And don’t worry... I’m going to be by your side, okay?” Maka whispered to Futaba, as Futaba nodded in response.</p><p>Futaba was mentally counting the seconds that ticked by. It was rather boring, listening to Stein talk. She decided to look around the room to make notes on it. Once her attention landed on Soul... Futaba’s mind began to fixate on him. ‘...Was me hiding behind him a bit too embarrassing for him?’ Futaba began to question herself. She didn’t want to make anyone feel embarrassed by her presence... But... Thinking a bit more... Soul seemed rather uncaring when she did so. And looking at him again... He certainly seemed bored. ‘Well guess we both got hit by the boredom status effect...’ Futaba sighed internally. Returning her attention back to Stein, Futaba began to lose track of time, as her mind began to think about Soul more. He actually looked rather cute, not to mention how cool he acted when she hid behind him, along with... ‘Wait is his spirit animal a protective wolf??? I’m going to need to investigate this further...’ Futaba thought, before another thought entered her mind. Maybe... Just maybe... Soul wouldn’t mind if Futaba asked him to be her key item when dealing with large groups of people? </p><p>Oh the lunch bell brought Futaba so much mental relief. After many of the students charged out the room, Futaba felt like she wasn’t being watched by hundreds of people. However, Futaba stayed behind, wanting to avoid being trampled by everyone. Then again, she had to speak with Stein and receive a student ID card just to be safe, in case she ever needed to stay in a dorm for whatever reason, and have him check her soul to see if the cause for her to summon Necromonia when supporting Maka while she fought Black*Star.</p><p>
  <b>Don’t drag this out... Make it quick...</b>
</p><p>Futaba sighed. She might actually do that. “Hey... Mr. Stein... S-Sorry... About e-earlier... I-I...” Futaba looks down as Stein finishes her sentence. “Got overwhelmed by so many people? Eh, I felt like you’d get nervous anyways. Not to judge you based on appearances, but you looked like you would get nervous from large crowds anyways.” Stein shrugged carelessly, as Futaba blinked. “Alright... Now stand still.” Stein said simply using his soul perception to see what Futaba’s soul was like, and what it appeared to be. It was bright orange, with big glasses, and a fire burning at the top of her soul. Her soul also seemed to act fearful and mischievous, fearful due to the fact she didn’t like being in big crowds and mischievous... For a reason, Stein couldn’t pinpoint. Aside from yesterday and her dropping a bomb on Black*Star and giving a smile when it blew up, there wasn’t much he could consider about her that was mischievous. “...Your soul acts fearful and mischievous. Otherwise, aside from a fire burning at the top of it, your soul... Seems rather normal, whilst being neither registered to be either a meister or a weapon.” Stein told Futaba, as she made a squeak. “Anyways... Here you go. Had your ID ready, just needed to do the soul check before giving it to you. Now run along to lunch. You’re probably hungry and given how... You seem to lack muscle for your age, I seriously recommend you eat lunch.” Stein told Futaba, who nodded. “Okay! I will!” Soon after saying that, Futaba charged out of the room, leaving Stein alone in his classroom. “...She has to be connected to Kid’s disappearance. I wonder if Kid’s friends are going to point that out to her...?” Stein muttered to himself, getting lost in thought. “Better let Futaba know that she can’t beat around the bush forever... Especially with her soul...” Stein sighed. With what seemed like a fire burning near the top of her soul... It was peculiar. Something he hadn’t seen before. ‘Maybe... perhaps that’s what made her summon that thing yesterday...’ Stein thought to himself, as he left his classroom to go and tell Lord Death his theory.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><br/>
“How peculiar... The Wild Card... There wasn’t a trace of one being there previously... Yet it’s gotten strong now... I’ll need to discuss this with Margaret and Elizabeth... We may have found a way to defeat that malevolent will...” A man, with platinum blonde hair, yellow eyes, and a velvet colored shirt and pants that made him look like a butler. “Shinigami-sama may also take interest in this...” He mumbled to himself, as he began to make his way... to the current stand in for the Velvet Room. The Death Room, as Lord Death called it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Heyyyyy~! It’s me again! So... Before I continue, I’m actually halfway proud of myself regarding the writing of this chapter and the previous ones, and just want to get that out there, but moving on... I don’t have much to say about this chapter honestly, I think it really speaks for itself... and really the only tidbits for this chapter is that you can add people to the group chat regardless if it’s muted, Futaba actually is beginning to find Kid’s clothes nice and wanting to steal a pair when she’s able to return home. That’s... basically it for tidbits. Tune in next time, where we have awkward situations is his middle name make his introduction, and Maka chops left and right.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Forced smiles</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1"><span class="s1">On second thought, Futaba was actually wanting to be able to stay in Stein’s classroom. After introducing herself in a not so... stellar way, so many people were going up to her, asking her a lot of questions. “I-I...” Futaba repeatedly said before the next question was thrown at her. “How did you get your hair to be so long?” “How did you dye your hair?” “What’s your favorite musician???” So many questions that eventually made her reach the breaking the point. “...Someone...” She began to sniffle. “P-Please... Please help me...” Futaba began crying. She would have fallen to her knees, if not for someone patting her back and telling her and the people surrounding her... “It’s alright Futaba... Everyone... P-Please leave her a-alone, everyone’s...” Futaba looked over to see Crona, staring at everyone with a dead look in his eyes. The people backed off, as Crona escorted Futaba to the table they ate at.</span>“Uhm... C-Crona... T-Thank you...” Futaba thanked Crona, who only smiled and said, “You’re w-welcome...” Once Crona and Futaba reached the table... Futaba notes how Star looked a bit more irritated than normal. “Oh hey Crona! And... Futaba.” Black*Star tried to smile genuinely but it came off as forced. “H-Hey Black*Star...” Futaba gulped. She looked at Liz and then Black*Star, noting how both of them were looking a bit irritated. “Uh... What’s w-wrong?” Futaba asked the two, which caused the two to immediately respond. “Someone took something from Patty, and asked if Kid turned into a bright orange haired girl that went by a completely different name. Needless to say, that made me want to kill them because I haven’t seen Kid all day.” Liz huffed as Black*Star forced a smile. “Oh I’m still angry from what you named me in the group chat. So much... That I challenge you again to battle! And this time, without Maka’s help! AND I WON’T STOP ASKING UNTIL YOU AGREE TO FIGHT ME!” Black*Star yelled as he stood up on the table, before Maka huffed. “Maka... CHOP!” After a couple of seconds, Black*Star was on the floor, suffering from being hit on the head by a book. “...Uhm... D-Discounting t-that... I-I’m going to eat uncooked r-ramen...” Futaba whipped out a cup of instant ramen, and opened it up, while the others just stared at her. “What? Uncooked ramen’s got that CRUNCH!” Futaba defended her action of eating uncooked ramen, with Soul smiling at her. “Yeah! Someone else who understands why I also like uncooked ramen!” Soul spoke with glee, as the others laughed and giggled at Futaba’s and Soul’s preference to eat uncooked ramen.</p><p class="p1">Meanwhile, two identical sisters, with platinum blonde hair, yellow eyes, and velvet colored clothes along with the one on the right being older than the one on the left, with the younger sister looking more akin to a stewardess in terms of appearance and the older sister looking more akin to a attendant or secretary, were discussing about a... <em>certain</em> matter. Discussing it before continuing on to Shinigami-sama, or Lord Death. “Margaret, do you think what Theodore told us bears truth?” The younger sister asked the older one, who was named Margaret. “I do indeed, Elizabeth. I feel the power of the Wild Card, alongside Theodore... Perhaps we should ask Shinigami-sama about... This Maka Albarn. I feel the Wild Card resonating the strongest in her.” Margaret admitted to the younger sister, named Elizabeth. “Alright. Let’s go to Shinigami-Sama, Mar-Garotte!” Elizabeth said with a cunning smile on her face. “I thought we dropped that long ago...” Margaret sighed, as Elizabeth looked at the male, probably called Theodore, with a sharp gaze. “I-I’m coming!” Theodore spoke quickly as he went to their side. “Now, let us speak Shinigami-sama...” Margaret said, as the three entered the Death Room. “Ah! Margaret, Elizabeth, Theodore, how nice to see you three yet again! I’m sorry if I’m a bit more hyper than normal. My child has gone missing and...” Lord Death took a deep breath. “I wish to find them but I can’t pinpoint anywhere they could be, if they’re still in Death City...” Lord Death look down, with Margaret chuckling. “I believe I may have an idea where he could be. The wheels of fate are constantly turning, and it seems one of the wheels has over-stepped it’s bounds.” Margaret explained, before a red haired man appeared and... “Oh my...” His eyes turned into hearts as he set his sights on Elizabeth and Margaret... before being hit on the head by Theodore’s book. “I must say... Spirit... You are truly predictable.” Theodore said with a smile on his face. “And absolutely pitiful, if we can count that.” Elizabeth added, as Spirit moaned in pain. “Oooooow...” </p><p class="p1">“So... You like Kid’s clothes?” Soul asked Futaba. “Yep! I’m actually considering taking a pair of his clothes home! T-They’re... so comfy...” Futaba began to squirm in comfort. “I love these...” Futaba mumbled, as Crona giggled. “I-I want to know w-what they f-feel like now...” Crona got a bit closer to Futaba. It caused Soul to shiver and begin glaring at Crona. He didn’t even realize it until Crona squeaked. “A-Ah sorry!” He spoke quickly. “...Oh...” Maka looked startled. “There’s three new souls here... None of them human yet their...?!” Maka gulped. “We better be careful and not get into unnecessary fights... There’s three souls, none of them human, and they’re rather powerful, so we best not attract their attention...” Maka told the others, with Star giggling. “Aw c’mon Maka! It’s nothing! I could beat them easily!” Star said with a smile, causing him to earn another Maka Chop. “No. It’s not. Futaba here dropped a bomb on you, that even I’m not sure how you managed to survive. So you have no room to talk, Black*Star.” Maka said sternly as Patty began thinking. “If there’s three new strong souls... Where are they?” Patty asked Maka. “Hm... I... It seems like... The Death Room?! Oh no... We need to go check on Lord Death...!” Maka looked scared before Soul spoke up. “His soul is still here, right? If you can still feel his soul, then nothing bad has happened yet. Sides, the souls aren’t as strong as Lord Death’s, right? So if they attacked him, then he could defeat them easily.” Soul spoke rather casually, which made Maka sigh. “Yeah... Fair point... Let’s check on him after school then...” Maka let out a defeated breath, as Liz giggled. “Who knows? Maybe they’re attractive women and Maka’s dad is trying to hit on them~” Before that could continue, Maka dealt Liz a Maka Chop. “Leave that at that, and back to the main discussion point.” Maka said firmly and quickly.</p><p class="p1">“Hm... I know! I was planning on getting some Manga before I came here, and then binge anime!... OH NO! I left my manga and anime collection undefended!” Futaba made some panicked squeaks before Crona patted her head. “It’s okay... N-Nobody will touch y-your anime or manga c-collection...” Crona smiled as Soul begin twiddling his thumbs, getting lost in thought. ‘Why... Why do I feel... Odd...? Why... does Crona and Futaba... interactions make me angry...?’ Soul began to think. What was the correct term...? Jealously...? He didn’t really know. He just knew... that Crona and Futaba being so close made him angry. “I think we lowered difficulty bar for you, Futaba.” Tsubaki smiled at Futaba, due to how talkative she was being. “D-Don’t remind me where I-I am...! Gyah... N-Now my a-anxiety’s coming back...” Futaba looked down as Liz and Patty giggled, before Crona patted Futaba on the back.</p><p class="p1">The bell rang, signifying the end of lunch. Well... At least until Futaba began to wander a bit again with Maka, finding a giant bulletin board. “Wow. What’s this?” Futaba asked, skimming over it. “The mission board. I can give a brief rundown if you want me to!” Mala smiled at Futaba. “I, thereby, accept your tutorial!” Futaba told Maka, making her giggle. “Okay... So, the mission board is where missions are put up. These missions can be solo missions, involving only one pair of meisters and weapons, or group missions, involving multiple pairs of meisters and weapons. If a mission pinned on the board has a pink tie, then it’s a new mission posted recently. If it has a red tie, then it’s a mission being taken on by someone else. If it has a complete stamp on it, then it’s been completed and will be taken off the board.” Maka stopped to temporarily catch her breath before continuing. “Missions higher up are more difficult compared to the ones that are lower, so remember that.” Maka told Futaba. Futaba nodded and looked at the mission board again. “So easy mode is the bottom while super soul crushing hard mode is at the top...” Futaba mumbled, having Maka giggle. “Well... You certainly are quirky... That’s what gives you your charm... A cute one at that...” Maka told Futaba, causing her to blush from embarrassment. “I-I’m not cute!” Futaba said out of pure embarrassment. </p><p class="p1">Returning back to class was the thing Futaba dreaded the most. However... Before the lesson could start, a man entered the room alongside Professor Stein. “Listen up everyone. This is Theodore. He’s joining us today in order to test everybody’s strength.” Stein says in boredom, before Theodore goes to the front of the room. “I’m Theodore. It is a pleasure to make all of your acquaintances...” Theodore smiles as Maka blinks. “His soul...! He’s one of the three...” Maka mumbles to herself, being noticed by Theodore. ‘...I feel the Wild Card’s power in her...’ Theodore left that thought alone before tilting his head. “M-Miss... M-Maka...” Theodore began to stutter from nervousness. “Maka Albarn. I’m sorry if this seems a bit... odd, but you wouldn’t mind if me and Soul were the first two people to fight you?” Maka asked with a shaky tone, as Futaba and Soul stared at her. “B-But that’s...! G-Gonna super impossible mode...! Y-You aren’t fighting with m-me, got it M-Maka?!” Futaba stuttered. She was mainly saying that out of a weird gut feeling she was getting, mainly the fact that... despite his appearance, Theodore has to be very, very strong deep down. “Aw I wanted to fight the butler guy!” Futaba turned to see Black*Star looking irritated... Only for Theodore to slam his book down on Black*Star’s head from his own irritation. “Disregarding that... Outburst from this young man... I happily accept your battle request, Maka.” Theodore smiled as Maka got up, along with Soul and Futaba. “I’m helping h-her j-just so you know!” Futaba stared at Theodore with determined eyes. “I do not mind if you wish to help Miss Maka.” Theodore said calmly to Futaba, with Maka sighing. “Let’s get to the battlefield before Star recovers... He’s going to be obnoxious otherwise.” Maka tells Theodore, bluntly at that.</p><p class="p1">Making their way to the battlefield, Futaba did a double take on Theodore. Definitely well mannered, a bit timid, has his own little version of a Maka Chop... Felt like there was something more to him... Futaba began to ponder. ‘Why do I feel like I should know him...?’ Futaba asked herself mentally. Eventually, once Theodore, Maka, Soul, and Futaba reaches the battlefield, Theodore took the left side, with Maka, Soul, and Futaba taking the right. “Hopefully you can provide enough support to help us win Futaba...” Maka loomed at Futaba, who only giggled. “Mwehehehe. You’re underestimating me.” Futaba said simply, before she was surrounded in a blue fog that quickly disappeared, with its effects having been changing Futaba’s clothes to a skintight black bodysuit with neon green stripes that glowed, matching black boots to the skintight black bodysuit, and a pair of big, black goggles with orange lenses. “Alright! Necronomicon, let’s do this!” Futaba said confidently, as she summoned the UFO from yesterday, supposedly named Necronomicon, as it ‘abducted’ Futaba. “...Disregarding that...” Soul turned into a scythe, with Maka grabbing him firmly. “We shall give it our all!” Maka yelled at Theodore, as he softly chuckled. “I look forward to it then.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hey! Long time, well hasn’t been long time but regardless, no see! Sorry if I missed updating this book, I have been busy and kinda trying to make sure this chapter was good. Anyways... I hope you guys are still enjoying this story! So... In this chapter, we’ve gotten introduced to the Velvet Siblings. So... To add some clarification, the reason they are here... Is because they took refuge when a malevolent will overtook the Velvet Room and overthrew Igor, their master. That’s really the only clarification I can think of that’s needed so... Moving on to the tidbits section!<br/>Soul and Futaba eat uncooked ramen some times. Like, if the two were to be left alone in a room with instant ramen, they dive for the ramen and beginning it.<br/>Futaba... doesn’t need much to break her down due to her social anxiety.<br/>Stein also knows Theodore and interacts with him and his sisters after school, although, Theodore’s sisters and Stein don’t have too great of a relationship. Expect an eventual shout fest when Margaret and Stein, Elizabeth and Stein, or both and Stein are in the same room.<br/>Black*Star’s harboring a grudge against Futaba due to the group chat. Yeah.<br/>Futaba will steal a pair of Kid’s clothes, mark her words.<br/>Theodore has seen Lord Death give Spirit one of his watered down chops. So, taking some inspiration from him, Theodore developed his own ‘Chop’, that he uses when someone irritates him or his sisters. He’s also seems Maka do this prior to ever feeling the power of the Wild Card in her.<br/>The Wild Card Power... Has been in Maka for a while, it’s been so dormant in her that it’s practically invisible to people like Theodore and his sisters.<br/>Anyways... I guess that’s it for the tidbits. Hope you look forward to the next chapter! Where Maka partakes in battle against Theodore, with Futaba being the support ally again.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. The Wildest of Cards</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Alright... I’m doing a scan!” Futaba yelled to Maka, as Maka got in a battle stance, staring at Theodore with determined eyes. “Whoa... These... These power levels are off the charts... Careful Maka! That’s... That’s a monster!” Futaba told Maka, with Maka only gulping. “This... will be fun...” Maka said to herself, as Theodore opened his book. “It certainly shall.” Theodore said before he yelled out his first attack. “Jack Frost! Bufudyne!” Theodore shouted as Maka was incased in solid ice before it shattered violently, knocking her off her feet, and onto the ground from dizziness. “Maka, you’ve been knocked down! Stay strong, please!” Futaba yelled, but it was all for not, as suddenly a cloud of dust kicked up, completely covering the battlefield. “This marks the end of our battle.” Theodore’s voice said, before the sound of many attacks filled the air. Then, once the dust settled... Theodore was standing a couple feet away from a defeated, unconscious Maka. “Forgive me. I tend to go all out rather early at times...” Theodore sheepishly smiled as Futaba tried to use her support abilities on Maka. “...Rip. Not going through...” Futaba sounded so disappointed, as Theodore chuckled. “Allow me. Unicorn, Samarecarm.” Theodore said, causing a creature to appear behind him and cast a spell on Maka. “...Ngh...” Maka groaned as she sat up. “What... time is it...?” Maka asked as she looked around. The rest of Stein’s class was there, jaws agape. “About two minutes after we began our battle, Ms. Maka.” Theodore spoke calmly. “He wrecked ya Maka. Not even I could do anything...” Futaba admitted defeatedly, as she came out of Necronomicon. “Speaking of which... The Power of the Wild Card is strong within you, Maka. I would like you to come with me, if Mr. Stein will allow it.” Theodore’s two sentences confused Maka and Futaba, hell even to an extent of Crona. “The power of the Wild Card...? The hell’s that...?” Soul reverted back to his human form, as he stared at Theodore, with confusion littering his eyes. “I can explain with my sisters, however, only if Mr. Stein permits it.” Theodore glanced over at Franken Stein, who only nodded. “Go ahead. I think you have me beat in nearly every area possible anyways...” Stein trailed off, causing some of the students to look at the ground or other places for confirmation that Stein actually said that. “Alright then. Maka, Futaba, and... Soul, was it? If you would be so kind to follow me...” Theodore smiled as Futaba, Maka, and Soul lined up behind him.</p><p>Upon reaching the Death Room... Maka immediately took note of the presence of the other souls she felt earlier. “And then, I’ll make sure to take Lavenza out to get a mystical flan!” The younger sister spoke determinedly, making the older one chuckle. “Of course you will Elizabeth, let me know when Flans are put on discount.” Elizabeth pouted at the older one’s words. “Flans are always on discount, Sister!” Elizabeth defended, making Margaret giggle at how a conversation about making sure a certain Spirit Albarn was okay could devolve into this. “Sisters! I-I have brought them back! A-And I brought her friends, too!” Theodore opened the door, and allowed Maka, Futaba, and Soul entry. “Whoa, talk about a more kick ass aura than before! Seriously, when did Lord Death activate the badass mode?!” Futaba looked around, feeling a bit more comforted seeing the small spot to the North of the room that was not previously covered in Velvet being cladded in it. “Velvet... Was seen as being very hard to create due to it’s unusual comfortable feeling... To see a room have velvet apart of it... More importance to it...” Maka mumbled to herself, as Elizabeth spoke. “Welcome to the Velvet Room. Well... partially. This is technically a stand-in for the Velvet Room, the real Velvet Room has been over taken by a malevolent will. So, this stand in for the Velvet Room is a part of the Shinigami-sama’s Death Room.” She said simply, with a smile on her face. “You must be the one with the power of the Wild Card. I am Margaret, this is my sister, Elizabeth, and that guy behind you two is my brother, Theodore.” Margaret explained, with Soul only asking one simple question. “What’s the Wild Card?”</p><p>“The Wild Card is the ability to wield multiple personas. Think of a persona as a mask you use to face hardships in life. Thus, by being able to wield multiple personas, you’re able to wield multiple masks to face the hardships in life. However, not everyone has this power, and those who do are bounded by a contract to the Velvet Room.” Elizabeth explained simply to Maka, Futaba, and Soul. “Currently, since this is a stand in for the Velvet Room, me, Margarette, and Theodore are thankful for Shinigami-sama’s tolerance for us being here.” Elizabeth added, with Margaret speaking up. “Shinigami-sama, do you have a table? I would very much like to use a set of Tarot Cards I have to truly see the extent of Kid’s situation, and to see into Maka’s, Futaba’s, and Soul’s future.” Margaret calmly asked, with a table appearing behind her. “There ya go!” Lord Death said cheerily, with Spirit appearing from behind Lord Death. “I’m okay-” Spirit’s eyes landed on Elizabeth and immediately he began to swoon again, with Maka, Lord Death, and Theodore delivering their own chops onto Spirit’s head so the point gets across to him. </p><p>“Hm... The beginning of making peace starts with you, becoming stronger and stronger... Faced with a tragedy, you will end up at your lowest, wishing to just give up. However, the support of your friends will help you overcome such a tragedy and strengthen your resolve to do the right thing.” Margaret explained. “This is similar to your future, Futaba and Soul... Except, the Lovers arcana was drawn during both your readings. I think it is fate that you two will grow to love each other, but will have to part ways eventually.” Margaret explained the difference from Maka’s reading to Futaba and Soul’s readings. “What about Kid?” Lord Death asked, as Margaret looked down. “He’s going to become a strong and dependable young man. He’s going to be faced with tough times, and eventually make a decision that will cripple him. However, he will save a life in need of redemption, and the life he saved shall follow him, and be given a second chance.” Margaret told Lord Death, who tilted his head. “The person he will save also seems to have the power of the Wild Card. Kid is the Death Arcana to them, and currently... Has formed a contract with them.” Margaret smiles softly, as Elizabeth looks at Lord Death. “Seems like you have quite the caring son Shinigami-sama! No wonder he’s friends with people, despite that OCD you’ve told us about... and witnessed in secret.” Elizabeth chuckled as Soul cleared his throat. “How do you know about that...?” Soul asks as Theodore answers with a chuckle. “You make it sound like Shinigami-sama doesn’t also have OCD. And given how Kid is a section of Shinigami-sama, it would be natural that the OCD is passed down.” Elizabeth only laughed. “Yeah, and I doubt you remember, but you were at that sushi restaurant last week, sitting right behind me! I must say, being that close and not being able to feel the power of the Wild Card... It must’ve been really weak, only to be strengthened all of a sudden... That must have been caused by the sudden appearance of a persona user like Futaba. Although, that’s just a guess on my end.” Elizabeth mused, as Theodore raised his hand. “If I may... But Maka’s extremely weak at the moment. I also suspect that the Wild Card is growing weaker within her, with time. Perhaps, when she first obtained the power, she didn’t know it, allowing it to grow weaker and weaker as she relied on Soul more and more frequently. That’s a possible theory that could explain everything, however, it still is but a theory...” Theodore sighed as he looked down. Maka then spoke up. “The Wild Card is a powerful ability, correct? What other abilities do Wild Cards have?” Maka asked, as Lord Death waved. “Oh nothing too much from what they’ve told me! Aside from being able to forge contracts that make you stronger... The main thing is creating new personas and sacrificing others for said new personas.” Margaret sighed. “Contracts are very important. They allow the Wild Card to grow more powerful, making stronger, better personas.” Margaret looked to Theodore, who squeaked. “Ah... For making new personas, sometimes they don’t always go the way you expect them to, but nothing’s perfect after all...” Theodore gulps, as Elizabeth sighs. “Regardless... I believe you already have formed very strong bonds with the people around you. Soul there? If I had to use video game terminology for accuracy... You’ve maxed him out. Along with that blue haired nuisance-” Futaba snickers. “-those two twins, that pink haired victim of abuse at the hands of a nasty influence-” Maka cringed at that statement. “-Shinigami-sama’s son, and that long pony tail woman-” Soul giggled at Elizabeth’s depiction of Tsubaki. “-Which allows you to create quite a few ultimate personas of those arcanas.” Elizabeth finished as Futaba shook her head. “So, Uh, question... Sojiro took in someone named Willow Ren... When I awakened to my persona, he used multiple personas as well. Does that mean he has the power of the Wild Card?” Futaba asked, as Margaret smiled. “Excellent observation you made. Of course, he does... except it’s not being cultivated correctly. He’s at the mercy of a malevolent will currently. He will eventually experience true despair at the hands of this will.” Margaret explained, making Futaba gulp. “Ah, as enlightening as this conversation for you all has been, it’s actually getting rather late. School’s been over... Since an hour ago.” Lord Death interjected. “Wait what?! Time’s so uncool, just slipping away like that!” Soul pouted, making Futaba smile. “Alright then. You are dismissed, now. Please... Do not die on your way home.” Margaret said with concern littering her voice. “We won’t, it’d be uncool to just up and die.” Soul says dismissively, as Maka heard a voice begin speaking in her head...</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>I am thou... Thou art I... Thoust has obtained a new vow.</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>It shall become the wings of rebellion that breakth thy chains of captivity.</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>With the birth of the Hermit persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power...</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em><b>Memegirl: </b>Like big news!<br/>
</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Memegirl: </b>Maka’s a Wild Card!</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Kiss me Soul~: </b>I am looking forward to using this power to the fullest extent.</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Totally gay: </b>?</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Moody: </b>It means she swings both ways Star</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Kiss me Soul~: </b>No, Liz, I am not bisexual or a lesbian.</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Memegirl: </b>Anyways so you guys are like max rank with Maka. That’s all, let’s sleep this day away. Theodore took... all my energy along with people talking.</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Kat and Ana without Ana: </b>I concur. Today was mentally exhausting after returning to the class room.</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>I saw your online search history: </b>Me tired, sleep</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Scary child: </b>Hey Star! Any daydreams with Kid???</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Totally gay: </b>Just one and he was talking with a person</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Memegirl: </b>Booooooring</em>
</p><p>
  <em><b>Shy and absolutely Babey: </b>I’m going to bed ni</em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>Memegirl has muted the chat until 4:00 A.M.</em> </b>
</p><p>After eating dinner, Futaba felt exhausted and wanted to sleep. Course, Patty came and asked to sleep with Futaba just for that night, like a sleepover. “I miss Kid already... His talk of symmetry... His unique quirks... I miss everything about him! Even his smell!” Patty whines, as Futaba tilts her head. “Can you tell me more about him?” Futaba asked, as Patty sighed. “He’s got severe OCD, obsesses with symmetry, has dark hair...” Patty begins to trail off as Futaba sighs. “Wait... He has dark hair...? So do I!” Futaba then smiles brightly. “I prefer to dye it orange, honestly.” Futaba adds, which makes Patty smile. “You like the color orange?” Patty asks, with Futaba giggling. “Yep! Along with it being long!” Futaba then yawns. “Mmm... Tired. Gonna sleep until my birthday. Good night.” Futaba jokes as she then passes out on the bed. “Good night, Taby!” Patty smiles as she climbs onto the bed, also passing out due to how soft the bed is.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Woo this chapter took a while to write! But I think it came out rather good if I must say so myself! I hope you guys didn’t mind the wait, been trying to gather motivation but finally had enough to get this chapter out! Anyways... So first of all, Elizabeth, Margaret, and Theodore are friends with Lord Death, hence why they are using the Death Room as a sort of mini-Velvet Room or base. Along with that, the info for the personas was gotten off the Shin Megami Tensei wiki(I seriously recommend combing through the wiki for information on Persona if you’re interest), also sorry if this is rather wordy. There’s a lot to unpack in this particular chapter, but trust me when I say this is the mere tip of the iceberg for an information dump. Anyways... Tid bits about this chapter!<br/>Trust me, I have a Fourth of July chapter in the works. In it, we have Futaba and Soul shooting fireworks, and Akechi and Kid shooting fireworks. That’s really... all the context you need for that chapter.<br/>Made the chat section short due to this chapter just being wordy in general, so yeah.<br/>Maka’s definitely in possession of the Wild Card, it just took a while before she knew it. Hence why it grew weaker and weaker.<br/>Maka’s basically maxed out Soul’s, Kid’s, Liz’s, Patty’s, Black*Star’s, Tsubaki’s, and Crona &amp; Ragnarok’s social links, and has just started on Futaba’s. But if you’re curious... Kid is the Death arcana, Liz is the Empress arcana, Black*Star is the Emperor arcana, Patty is the Magician arcana, Soul is the Chariot arcana, Crona and Ragnarok are the Fool arcana, and Tsubaki is the Star arcana, with Futaba being the Hermit arcana.<br/>And that’s all I have for now. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and look forward... To meeting Garden Thief- I mean Haru next chapter, along with Pancake boy soon after.</p>
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